The real test of democracy for
the Voice of Palestine will come
when the elections to the Pales-
tinian Council take place. (Orig-
inally scheduled for last July, the
elections are not expected to be
held before December, at the ear-
liest, and probably not before
sometime next year.) The powers
that be seem less concerned with
speculating about internal
democracy than with gearing up
for the vote by getting their tele-
vision station on the air.
Israel has yet to accord the
Palestinian Authority a broad-
cast frequency for its television
station, and Culture and Infor-
mation Minister Yasser Abed
Rabbo suspects that the foot-
dragging on this issue is a nego-
tiation tactic. He is scheduled to
meet with Israeli Communica-
tions and Culture Minister Shu-
lamit Aloni next week to discuss
the issue. But although relations
between them have been con-
spicuously cordial, he's not pre-
pared to speculate on what the
outcome will be.
Dressed casually in a short
summer jacket and chinos, Mr.
Rabbo, who has come to the Jeri-
cho station to tape an interview,
fits right in with the informal at-
mosphere — up to a point. As he
joins a dozen or so workers and
visitors in the crowded adminis-
tration room, the lively conver-
sation about the lack of salaries
and budgets promptly switches
to innocuous small talk. The
minister is aware of the concern,
even hardship, of the staff. He
just doesn't have any solution.
"The people here understand
that until the donor countries
come through with the funds
they've promised, there's just not
enough to go around," he ex-
plains. "We'll need $5 million to
$6 million to run the Palestinian
Broadcasting Corp. — radio and
television — for the first year.
Once we get our tax system run-
ning, we'll pay our own way. But
we have to depend on the good
will of our workers till the donors
prove theirs."
On a more upbeat note, station
director Bassam Abu Samaya be-
lieves that he will begin receiv-
ing the $40,000 a month needed
for salaries and operating costs
in October. Until then — and
probably longer, if necessary —
the staff of the Voice of Palestine
is determined to stay on the air.
"Each time I open a broadcast
with 'This is the Voice of Pales-
tine' and they play the national
anthem, I feel a tingle," says Ms.
Abu Akleh. "Sure we have lots of
problems, but the excitement is
still there."
New IDF Chief
H
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Maj. Gen. Am-
non Shahak has been chosen to
serve as the next chief of staff of
the Israel Defense Force.
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