Kol Israel

(The Voice of Israel)

   The cornerstone of electronic media in Israel; governed by the Israel Broadcasting Authority Act of 1965. Broadcasting in Israel had its roots both in the official service operating under the British mandate and the clandestine Jewish broadcasts set up by paramilitary underground organizations (for example, Kol Israel ha-Lohemet—The Voice of Fighting Zion, established by the Irgun Tzvai Leumi in March 1939). In 1940, Kol Israel—The Voice of Israel, was used for the first time; it was the radio broadcasting station of the Hagana. In 1950, this became the Israel army broadcasting station, Galei Tzahal. Kol Israel came into existence in 1948 with a live broadcast of the proclamation of independence and the ceremony of signing the declaration at the Tel Aviv Museum. The first broadcast of Kol Israel television occurred on Independence Day 1968.

   Early on, efforts were made to have Kol Israel serve as a national institution with an emphasis on Zionist education and educational programming. Broadcasts were aired in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Additional programming in Russian and other languages was introduced to accommodate immigrant (see ALIYA) waves. Until the late 1980s, broadcasting in Israel was a monopoly controlled tightly by the state. However, in the early 1990s, legislation was changed to permit the opening-up of the system, including a second television channel and local radio stations, privately run, and cable television.