Israel Radio International

Israel Radio International – Reka
Type Radio network
Country  Israel
Availability International
Owner Israel Broadcasting Authority
Key people
 Shmuel Ben-Zvi (Director)
Official website
 http://www.iba.org.il/world

Israel Radio International or Reka (Hebrew: רשת קליטת עלייה‎ Reshet Klitat Aliya, or רק״ע Reka) is the radio service of Israel Broadcasting Authority for immigrants and listeners abroad.

Overview

Operating since 1950,[1] the Voice of Israel's shortwave transmissions on Reshet Hey ("Network E") broadcasts to the entire world. They are also the main link between Israel and the Jewish diaspora. In its early years, "Kol Zion la'Gola" (קול ציון לגולה) as it was known, was the sole reliable and direct source of information for Jews living in the Arab countries and behind the "Iron Curtain".

Administered by the overseas broadcasting division, it transmits to listeners abroad in 14 languages: English, French, Russian, Bukharan, Georgian, Mugrabian, Yiddish, Tigrinya, Ladino, Spanish, Romanian, Hungarian, Persian and Amharic.

Apart from news and broadcasts reflecting events in the country, the channel transmits documentaries on Judaism, the history of the Israeli people, Israeli culture and discussions on immigration and absorption.

The studio of Israel Radio's Persian service

As of the summer of 2007, the only Israel Radio International / Reshet Hey produced programming, is Persian. The rest of Israel Radio International, is a relay of the domestic REKA network. For example, the English news broadcasts on REKA and Israel Radio International are now identical.

As of June 30, 2013, due to budget cuts, the Persian service is no longer on shortwave. The Persian service is still available via satellite and on the web at the IBA World website, as well as the radis.org website.

As of April 1, 2008, the only shortwave broadcasts which were left were 1.5 hours of Persian aimed at Iran. The Persian Service was founded by Amnon Netzer in 1958.[2]

The Israel Radio English news may be heard on some radio stations which use the WRN feed. These stations do not broadcast at the same schedule as Israel Radio does, they are time delayed by WRN.

As of April 25, 2013, WRN is no longer carried on Sirius/XM. WRMI has said that they may add WRN programming back to their schedule in the future. As of December 16, 2013, WRN no longer hosts on-demand audio and podcasts. Israel Radio International is still available on WRN's English stream, though.

Unrelated internet station

A new internet radio station was launched in 2014 with the name "Voice of Israel" (http://www.voiceofisrael.com). This station is unconnected to Kol Israel (Hebrew for "Voice of Israel") or Israel Radio International. The online "Voice of Israel" is managed by Bureau Chief Daniel Seaman, a former prime ministerial aide and Likud supporter who previously coordinated the social media component of the Israeli government's hasbara campaign.

Comparison

Estimated total direct programme hours per week of some external radio broadcasters for 1996
Broadcaster 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1996[2]
United States VOA, RFE/RL & Radio Martí 497 1,495 1,907 1,901 2,611 1,821
China China Radio International 66 687 1,267 1,350 1,515 1,620
United Kingdom BBC World Service 643 589 723 719 796 1,036
Russia Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia[1][3] 533 1,015 1,908 2,094 1,876 726
Germany Deutsche Welle 0 315 779 804 848 655
Egypt Radio Cairo (ERTU) 0 301 540 546 605 604
Iran IRIB World Service / Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran 12 24 155 175 400 575
India All India Radio 116 157 271 389 456 500
Japan NHK World Radio Japan 0 203 259 259 343 468
France Radio France Internationale 198 326 200 125 379 459
Netherlands Radio Netherlands Worldwide[1] 127 178 335 289 323 392
Israel Israel Radio International[1] 0 91 158 210 253 365
Turkey Voice of Turkey 40 77 88 199 322 364
North Korea Radio Pyongyang / Voice of Korea 0 159 330 597 534 364
Bulgaria Radio Bulgaria[1] 30 117 164 236 320 338
Australia Radio Australia 181 257 350 333 330 307
Albania Radio Tirana (RTSH) 26 63 487 560 451 303
Romania Radio Romania International 30 159 185 198 199 298
Spain Radio Exterior de España[5] 68 202 251 239 403 270
Portugal RDP Internacional[1] 46 133 295 214 203 226
Cuba Radio Havana Cuba 0 0 320 424 352 203
Italy Rai Italia Radio[1] 170 205 165 169 181 203
Canada Radio Canada International[1] 85 80 98 134 195 175
Poland Radio Polonia[1] 131 232 334 337 292 171
South Africa Radio RSA / Channel Africa 0 63 150 183 156 159
Sweden Sveriges Radio International[1] 28 114 140 155 167 149
Hungary Magyar Rádió[1] 76 120 105 127 102 144
Czech Republic Radio Prague[4] 119 196 202 255 131 131
Nigeria Voice of Nigeria 0 0 62 170 120 127
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Radio Belgrade / International Radio of Serbia 80 70 76 72 96 68

Source: International Broadcast Audience Research, June 1996

The list includes about a quarter of the world's external broadcasters whose output is both publicly funded and worldwide. Among those excluded are Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and various international commercial and religious stations.

Notes:
  1. Does not broadcast on shortwave as of 2014.
  2. 1996 figures as at June; all other years as at December.
  3. Before 1991, broadcasting for the former USSR.
  4. Before 1996, broadcasting for the former Czechoslovakia.
    5.
  5. REE ceased all shortwave broadcasts in October 2014 but announced in December that it would resume shortwave transmission in Spanish only for four hours a day in order to accommodate Spanish fishing trawlers who were otherwise unable to receive REE at sea.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Highlights of the Overseas and Immigrant Radio Broadcasting Service
  2. ↑ AMNON NETZER, PROFESSOR OF PERSIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

External links