THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 18, 1983 21
Cairo Radio Station Adopts Softer Approach Since Peace Treaty
English, French and
Russian as well as in He-
brew, commentary, a
woman's hour, a pro-
gram for youth, history
lessons on Egyptian
civilization and regular
lectures by El-Himaly on
some aspect of Jewish
life in the Arab world in
the pre-Islamic and Is-
lamic periods.
"Public relations, first of
all, is my job," says El-
Himaly. "Arid public rela-
tions always expresses the
existing reality. In the past
the reality was different; it
rested on the continuation pleted last spring when the
of the state of war. Today we Radio and Television Asso-
have another reality, based ciafion of Egypt and the Is-
on peace . . . This is the es- rael Broadcasting
sential difference. In the Authority concluded a pro-
past I attacked. Today I tocol of cooperation, just be-
take an entirely different fore the eruption of the war
line." in Lebanon. The lessons in
The turnabout was corn- Hebrew, says El-Himaly,
are provided by Israel
within the framework of the
protocol, and Israel has pro-
vided musical recordings as
well — "another sign," he
says "of the new cooperation
between us."
Earne'stness is enthusi-
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RO YAL W INE CO R P., N EW YORK,
By JUDITH KOHN
CAIRO (JTA) — Hebrew
lessons by radio are nothing
new in Israel, a country ever
seeking to expand its
Jewish population by ab-
sorbing new immigrants.
But the "Lets's speak He-
brew" series has an unlikely
source. The program is
being broadcast from the
television and radio build
ing in Cairo, and b among its
listeners are Egyptian stu
dents of Hebrew language
at Cairo University.
In existence since shortly
after the Egyptian revolu
tion of 1952 that sub
sequently brought Gamal
Abdel Nasser to power, "Kol
Kahir" — as the station is
called — was established by
the government with the
express aim of broadcasting
hostile information to the
citizens of a state which it
sought to destroy.
"In the past," says Ahmed
El-Himaly, the station's
manager, "we always tried
to base the tone of our pro
gram on an assessment o f
the Israeli citizen — his
mentality, his thoughts, his
points of view and his opin:
ions — in the light of the
state of war between us, as a
soldier, not as a person."
Speaking in proficient
Hebrew, El-Himaly re-
called the early days of
Kol Kahir, which he has
directed for well over 20
years. "From the very
beginning, when we
started to broadcast a
special Hebrew program
for the Israeli people, we
had objectives that were
one hundred percent
psychological, dictated
by the state of war that
prevailed then."
But El-Himaly maintains
that even before the peace
between Egypt and Israel,
the belligerent tone of Kol
Kahir did not discourage Is-
raelis from listening. The
station's ratings reached a
record high during the Yom
Kippur War, when, he
claims, 1.25 million listen-
ers kept their ears peeled to
the radio for the regular an-
nouncements by Kol Kahir
naming Israelis taken pris-
oner in the fighting. Today,
El-Himaly speculates, the
station enjoys no less than
60,000 regular listeners in
Israel.
His assessment may be
scoffed at by some Israelis,
but it derives from a convic-
tion that steps taken by the
station back in 1973 to mod-
erate the tone of its pro-
grams would inevitably in-
crease the number of its lis-
teners and expand its influ-
- ence over public opinion.
"Since the outbreak of the
October (Yom Kippur)
war," El-Himaly said, "we
have adopted a very clear
line. Following instructions
from above . . . we decided
that we must present the
facts in their entirety, in
order to influence public
opinion throughout the
world, Israel included."
Today, a staff of some
90 Egyptians work at the
station, churning out
daily five-hour programs
that include news in
Proof of purchase
(store or cash register
receipt) must accompany
coupon.
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