Correspondents' Correspondence Israeli Scramble
SALPETER, ELIAHU
Israeli Scramble Tel Avtv—At first it seemed silly: Israelis buying increasingly more color televisions—at four times the price of black-and-white sets—even though the government prohibits color...
...They share the same channel and transmit exclusively in black-and-white, even though the new equipment bought by the Jerusalem Broadcasting House in the early '70s is designed for color...
...The commission has unanimously urged the establishment of an Independent Television System to break the government's broadcasting monopoly and provide alternative newscasts and entertainment...
...On receiving this recommendation, Communications Minister Yitz-chak Modai observed: "Gentlemen, since it is inconceivable these days that a new network should start transmitting only in black and white, and since it is equally inconceivable that the government TV should, in such a case, remain black and white—you have, actually, decided on the introduction of color broadcasts on all Israeli television...
...Incidentally, Israel placed first again...
...Curiously, Ben Gurion never foresaw television's educational potential, particularly its value in dealing with what he considered to be one of Israel's primary problems—the integration of new immigrants...
...And it appears that they are about to be proved right...
...Regular TV broadcasts were not begun here until 1967, years after tens of thousands of Israelis had acquired sets and installed special high antennas to catch shows from Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Jordan...
...Thus, the new transmitters were equipped with special "bleacher" scramblers that turn chromatic pictures into monochrome on reaching the receiver...
...Until recently, the Arabs did not make any attempt to exploit this captive audience for propaganda purposes...
...Color programming, it maintained, would send Israelis rushing to trade in their black-and-white receivers for new, more expensive color ones, giving added impetus to the inflationary spiral...
...The same thing happened for the peace-signing ceremony, relayed live from the White House...
...But there is reason to suspect the State's Founding Father was at least as much concerned that the People of the Book would cease reading and start watching soap operas instead...
...But over the past two years most Israelis became convinced that the ban would eventually be lifted...
...Undaunted, the public purchased special "descramblers" that put the color back into the picture, while merchants continued to import color sets in growing numbers and do a thriving business...
...At present, three stations are operating: one educational, one Arabic and one Hebrew...
...The absurdity of the situation was underscored when the government?wishing to dramatize the importance of the event—ordered the scramblers switched off for President Carter's speech to the Knesset...
...and for the Israeli-hosted 1979 Eurovision Contest, the annual hit-parade competition that European and other national networks participate in...
...Meanwhile, a somnolent government committee appointed some time ago to study the implications of color TV appears to have been superceded by a public commission...
...Only of late have they initiated some half-hearted efforts in this direction...
...The fight for color broadcasting may, after all, be over.—Eliahu Salpeter...
...The rear guard action against the small screen here goes back to the '50s, when David Ben Gurion opposed the introduction of visual broadcasting...
...The government, however, once more trotted out the economic argument...
...Ostensibly, he was worried that it would accelerate the pace of rising expectations and create a demand for a higher standard of living than the country's economy could afford...
...Israeli Scramble Tel Avtv—At first it seemed silly: Israelis buying increasingly more color televisions—at four times the price of black-and-white sets—even though the government prohibits color broadcasts...
...On the eve of this last event, color television sales climbed dramatically and the ratings showed that about 15 per cent of the Israeli public watched the show in color...
Vol. 62 • May 1979 • No. 10
