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Justice Minister Tommy Lapid plans to shut down pirate radio stations serving the ultra-Orthodox and right-wing public.
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| By Debbie Berman March 7, 2003 |
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Justice Minister Tommy Lapid plans to propose legislation to shut down pirate radio stations serving the ultra-Orthodox and right-wing public. Outraged station operators say they provide quality programming suited to their audience's needs and do not intend to cave in to Lapid's demands.
Despite governmental protests, as many as an estimated forty illegal Israeli pirate radio stations have cropped up in the past decade. Most of the illegal stations serve an ultra-Orthodox audience and are often referred to as the "holy channels." The stations include Kol Ha'emet, Radio 10, Kol Halev and Kol Hahessed, all of which offer Jewish music, Torah classes and religious programming. Another popular, though not legally licensed radio station is the right-wing Arutz 7, which broadcasts from a ship outside Israeli territorial waters, providing news and commentary on daily events in Israel and the territories. Arutz 7 also has broadcasting facilities near Beit El.
Political sources say that one of the top priorities for Justice Minister Tommy Lapid of the secular Shinui party is the dismantling of Israeli pirate radio. Lapid, a veteran of the communications industry, is planning to push for legislation to shut down the illegal stations, something that was not done by his predecessors, due primarily to political considerations.
Broadcasting officials say that the pirate radio stations pose a security problem and blame them for interfering with the signals of air traffic control directing the landing and takeoff of planes at Ben-Gurion International Airport. The Airports Authority has warned that a potential aviation accident could result from continued interference.
Popular ultra-Orthodox radio personality Shmuel Ben-Atar, who was listed in the seventeenth slot on the Shas Knesset slate in this year's election, stressed the importance of the radio stations to their ultra-Orthodox audience. "Our audience does not have television, theater or light entertainment. We're not even allowed to bring secular newspapers into our homes because of the despicable pictures displayed. So what's left? Only our own radio stations."
Ben-Atar responded angrily to reports of Lapid's plans to target pirate radio, "So what do they want, to lock us in cages? Not allow us to listen to anything, not Sephardic music or words of Torah - only their worthlessness, replete with Tommy Lapid's arguing?"
Rabbi Yosef Ben-Porat, an ultra-Orthodox presenter on Radio 10, points to the exclusion of the ultra-Orthodox from mainstream Israeli media. "Since the establishment of the state, the ultra-Orthodox and religious public have had no access to the media. All the radio announcers and producers are secular; there is not even one ultra-Orthodox person represented. It is not coincidental, and the result is that we cannot circulate our words of Torah and faith," Ben-Porat said.
Previous attempts to shutdown the pirate radio stations have proven unfruitful. In the past, police and Communication Ministry official raids on residences where pirate radio stations were broadcasting usually sparked a quick fundraising drive to replace confiscated equipment and allow broadcasting to continue.
One of the most prominent supporters of the ultra-Orthodox pirate stations has been former Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who hosts a talk radio program on Thursday nights on Jerusalem's Kol Hanishama station. As a minister, Deri worked to secure governmental approval for pirate radio stations, attempting to attain legal status for the stations without subjecting them to standard monitoring and scrutiny. Communications analysts accuse Deri and his supporters of using ultra-Orthodox radio stations as a political tool during election campaigns and throughout Deri's trial and prison term.
Opposition from Shas, a party that wielded substantial political power and clout in recent government coalitions, blocked government initiatives to shut down operation of the stations. With Shas out of the current government, political sources predict that Lapid will act quickly to shut down the radio stations. However, the National Religious Party and the National Union, mandated to represent the interests of right-wing voters, are expected to put up a fight against any such action, to protect their own Arutz 7 as well as the ultra-Orthodox stations.
Ben-Atar vehemently stated that he had no plans of allowing anyone to take him off the air, "Let's hope that Tommy Lapid and his friends give up on their dreams. If not, let it be clear: We will not get off the air and will continue to broadcast for the good of all of Israel, especially our public, who are thirsting for words of Torah in the style we offer. Nothing anyone does will stop that."
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