Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev is on the war path
Regev issued a statement in which she said that she would not waste public funds on yet another elitist station that does not reflect the demographic composition of the nation.
By GREER FAY CASHMANUpdated: JUNE 26, 2016 10:53Culture Minister Miri Regev(photo credit: REUTERS)
Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev (Likud) is on the war path and her target is the yet to be established Public Broadcasting Corporation which by law is scheduled to go to air on October 1. PBC will replace the Israel Broadcasting Authority which is supposed to cease operations on September 30.Regev has received information to the effect that PBC radio station will be an updated version of Galgalatz which is Regev’s nemesis, because in her view, it does not sufficiently promote singers of Middle Eastern origin nor does it provide much of a platform for Middle Eastern music. At one stage, Regev wanted to close down the station and to establish a new station in which the main focus would be on Middle Eastern music, singers, and musicians whose repertoires are mainly in this genre..Regev issued a statement in which she said that she would not waste public funds on yet another elitist station that does not reflect the demographic composition of the nation in terms of gender, political identification, religion, and ethnic background..“I will not allow public funds to be used to finance yet another elitist station which represents a particular political camp, a particular city and a particular segment of the population," she declared, recalling that Israel Radio’s Reshet Gimmel used to all but ignore Eastern performers and their music.“We won’t make the same mistake again. Public Broadcasting is not anyone’s personal business,” she declared. “Public broadcasting belongs to the public.” According to the public broadcasting law, she continued, the new public broadcasting entity must be pluralistic and must reflect diversity of opinion as well as Israel’s population mix.She said that together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is also Communications Minister, she would hold a public discussion for the purpose of defining who should be employed at PBC.As yet, employees of the IBA have not been notified as to their future.Regev did not relate to another section of the Public Broadcasting Law that states that broadcasts must be made from Jerusalem. As things currently stand, there is a strong likelihood that they will be relayed from Modi'in.