2004-12-31 10:14:48

Persian-accented Hebrew has been flowing across the airwaves as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcast Corporation recently began broadcasting a Hebrew radio station which can be accessed through the internet.

"Kol David" broadcasts its main news show every evening from 7-7:30 Greenwich time and has two other half hour broadcasts.

In a two-minute recorded introduction accessible from the webpage, an up-beat Iranian radio host tells Hebrew-speaking listeners that the broadcasts are directed to "Falestina and America."

Yet, in a blatant break with state rhetoric, the "Kol David" radio website refers to Israel by name. Its news articles, which appear to be copied in some instances from the Israeli Hebrew press, never use the more common Iranian phrase "Zionist entity." The only obvious difference in language is the use of 'immigrant' instead of "olim" and that the Israeli Defense Ministry is called the "Ministry of War."

At the top of the webpage, which can be accessed at http://www.irib.ir/worldservice/hebrewradio/default.htm, the Hebrew date slides across the screen. The site provides limited news, with most of it about Israel. The articles describe controversial events on the conflict. Dilemmas such as the psychological effects of the intifada on Israeli children are also posted.

The site does provide some daily world news, such as the tsunami disaster and events in Iraq. There is no news about Iran on the site, but links on the side of the webpage connect readers to Iranian news stations and to Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's official website.

Hebrew-speaking Arab radio stations are meant as propaganda efforts to influence Israelis' view of their own society, but there can be other side effects, says Gerald Steinberg, the director of the Conflict Management and Negotiation program at Bar-Ilan University.

"I have discovered that [Egyptian and Jordanian Hebrew-language broadcasters] have gained a reasonable understanding of Israeli society through their language training," said Steinberg. "Perhaps these [Iranian] Hebrew speakers will help to provide some understanding about Israeli perceptions, and create some lines of communication with the centers of power in Teheran."

The station encourages feedback from Israelis.

After every internet article the word "response" is written in red and pressing on it leads to an e-mail address of the radio station. The word "E-Mail" dances on the side of the webpage, calling readers to press on it and write.

31 December 2004

By Orly Halpern