There are two types of Israelis. Those that need to know now, and those that simply cannot bear to know. I couldn?t begin to estimate the percentages in each group, but I have many friends who cannot bear to know, have heard too much, seen too much, cried too much, felt too much in the last three years. They are perhaps the easiest to understand and, sadly, their numbers continue to grow with each terrorist attack.
The second kind of Israeli is much harder to understand, because they seem to defy human nature, refuse to close their eyes and ears long enough to give their brains and souls desperately needed space and time to heal. They listen to as many hourly news broadcasts as they can manage, check the Internet frequently and diligently scan or read the newspapers every day. They drive with their radio tuned to the station most likely to give them the information they need to know and turn the television on countless times each day just to make sure that the Israeli channels are still broadcasting meaningless shows, not announcements of a terrorist attack.
How do you do it? How can you stand living there? These are questions I am often asked by my international friends. The answer is simple enough, because I belong to that second group of Israelis. I need to see, to hear, to know at any moment what is happening. Every moment tuned in to the radio is another moment of peace, because I know nothing has happened. If the radio isn?t on or I?m not connected to Internet, than I can?t know that nothing has happened. In its own sick way, this makes sense. We are constantly wired, always alert. Knowing brings us as much comfort as not knowing brings others.
When you are part of this group, you quickly learn who can get you the information you need first, what station has the most up-to-date information, who will tell you first what you need to know. Your Internet browser contains quick links to the major news sites, and you check them often. Your radio buttons are set to the major radio stations and the radio goes on with the air conditioner when you first enter your car. In three years of violence, we?ve become experts. We understand the ways of the land, the ways of the broadcasts, the ways to the truth.
Ambulance sirens are often the first broadcast I hear and see. They wail as they climb up to Jerusalem. The first announcement that something has happened. One ambulance, and another, and then another. Something bad. Newspapers are too slow. They will only tell me tomorrow what is happening now. Television might be my next stop, but more often than not, in the first moments it is the radio that answers this need to know.
For the Israeli courts to limit this resource at a time when Israelis desperately need as much access to information as quickly as possible is simply criminal. To require a piece of paper, a license, to do what Arutz-7 has successfully been doing for 15 years is simply absurd. If a license is required, give them a license. If funds are needed, allow them to raise this money. Arutz-7 is critical to the physical and mental well-being of thousands of Israelis.
Arutz-7 is a station that understands the kind of Israeli that needs to know what is happening now. Too often, Israeli media follows international bias, separating between Israeli and settler. Jews die in the streets of Afula and Netanya, but settlers die in Hebron, Kiryat Arba and Otniel.
In those first critical moments, and throughout the difficult months, Arutz-7 does not judge the victim of terrorism with the silent accusation that were you not to live in this area, you would not have become a victim. Implied in many broadcasts on other stations is the assertion that if you lived somewhere else, drove somewhere else, ate somewhere else, you might not have been caught in this attack.
So many have died in Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv and Kfar Saba. To imply that it is more dangerous to live in Shilo than work in Tel Aviv is ridiculous. Worse, it is to blame the victim. Arutz-7 delivers the news without judging the victim and, thus, it has helped thousands of Israelis cope with a period in our nation?s history that simply defies words.
After making aliyah, I made the mistake of buying a semi-attached house from a man who had built the entire structure without a permit. After selling us one cottage, he promised part of our land to another potential buyer. No license. No permit. Dishonesty and fraud. When it went to court, the judge demanded that both sides compromise. No fines for the man who intentionally broke the law. No sanctions for fraud. No punishment for theft of land and willful damage of property. Even the lawyer who suggested, in front of the judge, that we simply bypass the local council and ignore written rules, was not reprimanded for his willful disregard for the law.
So, imagine my shock when I heard that the courts had ruled that Arutz-7 was guilty of violating the law. Is this the Israeli justice system? Fraud, theft, and lies slip past the system, but broadcasting without a license warrants a possible three years in jail and three million shekels in fines? How is it possible that, at a time when listeners need this station most of all, a judge would deny this important voice?
As Arutz-7 stopped broadcasting, I felt I had lost a friend, a voice, a line with what is happening now. How is it possible for a nation like Israel to have more national soccer teams than legal radio stations? What justice is there in a ruling that silences a voice that needs to be heard because the broadcast was made a few kilometers too close to land? Who will tell me when the tunnel road is closed, when yet again, another family is suffering?
Every day, ships set sail in the Gulf of Eilat with Israelis on board. As soon as they cross some imaginary line in the water, millions of shekels are spent on gambling. The courts do not concern themselves with this because of a technicality and yet thousands of taxpayer shekels were wasted bringing this meaningless case against Arutz-7 to court.
Rather than handing down a sentence punishing station owners and management, the courts should demand that the government do what it should have done years ago: give the station a license and funding for the excellent service it provides to Israel?s citizens. After 15 years of service, Arutz-7 deserves better.
The second kind of Israeli is much harder to understand, because they seem to defy human nature, refuse to close their eyes and ears long enough to give their brains and souls desperately needed space and time to heal. They listen to as many hourly news broadcasts as they can manage, check the Internet frequently and diligently scan or read the newspapers every day. They drive with their radio tuned to the station most likely to give them the information they need to know and turn the television on countless times each day just to make sure that the Israeli channels are still broadcasting meaningless shows, not announcements of a terrorist attack.
How do you do it? How can you stand living there? These are questions I am often asked by my international friends. The answer is simple enough, because I belong to that second group of Israelis. I need to see, to hear, to know at any moment what is happening. Every moment tuned in to the radio is another moment of peace, because I know nothing has happened. If the radio isn?t on or I?m not connected to Internet, than I can?t know that nothing has happened. In its own sick way, this makes sense. We are constantly wired, always alert. Knowing brings us as much comfort as not knowing brings others.
When you are part of this group, you quickly learn who can get you the information you need first, what station has the most up-to-date information, who will tell you first what you need to know. Your Internet browser contains quick links to the major news sites, and you check them often. Your radio buttons are set to the major radio stations and the radio goes on with the air conditioner when you first enter your car. In three years of violence, we?ve become experts. We understand the ways of the land, the ways of the broadcasts, the ways to the truth.
Ambulance sirens are often the first broadcast I hear and see. They wail as they climb up to Jerusalem. The first announcement that something has happened. One ambulance, and another, and then another. Something bad. Newspapers are too slow. They will only tell me tomorrow what is happening now. Television might be my next stop, but more often than not, in the first moments it is the radio that answers this need to know.
For the Israeli courts to limit this resource at a time when Israelis desperately need as much access to information as quickly as possible is simply criminal. To require a piece of paper, a license, to do what Arutz-7 has successfully been doing for 15 years is simply absurd. If a license is required, give them a license. If funds are needed, allow them to raise this money. Arutz-7 is critical to the physical and mental well-being of thousands of Israelis.
Arutz-7 is a station that understands the kind of Israeli that needs to know what is happening now. Too often, Israeli media follows international bias, separating between Israeli and settler. Jews die in the streets of Afula and Netanya, but settlers die in Hebron, Kiryat Arba and Otniel.
In those first critical moments, and throughout the difficult months, Arutz-7 does not judge the victim of terrorism with the silent accusation that were you not to live in this area, you would not have become a victim. Implied in many broadcasts on other stations is the assertion that if you lived somewhere else, drove somewhere else, ate somewhere else, you might not have been caught in this attack.
So many have died in Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv and Kfar Saba. To imply that it is more dangerous to live in Shilo than work in Tel Aviv is ridiculous. Worse, it is to blame the victim. Arutz-7 delivers the news without judging the victim and, thus, it has helped thousands of Israelis cope with a period in our nation?s history that simply defies words.
After making aliyah, I made the mistake of buying a semi-attached house from a man who had built the entire structure without a permit. After selling us one cottage, he promised part of our land to another potential buyer. No license. No permit. Dishonesty and fraud. When it went to court, the judge demanded that both sides compromise. No fines for the man who intentionally broke the law. No sanctions for fraud. No punishment for theft of land and willful damage of property. Even the lawyer who suggested, in front of the judge, that we simply bypass the local council and ignore written rules, was not reprimanded for his willful disregard for the law.
So, imagine my shock when I heard that the courts had ruled that Arutz-7 was guilty of violating the law. Is this the Israeli justice system? Fraud, theft, and lies slip past the system, but broadcasting without a license warrants a possible three years in jail and three million shekels in fines? How is it possible that, at a time when listeners need this station most of all, a judge would deny this important voice?
As Arutz-7 stopped broadcasting, I felt I had lost a friend, a voice, a line with what is happening now. How is it possible for a nation like Israel to have more national soccer teams than legal radio stations? What justice is there in a ruling that silences a voice that needs to be heard because the broadcast was made a few kilometers too close to land? Who will tell me when the tunnel road is closed, when yet again, another family is suffering?
Every day, ships set sail in the Gulf of Eilat with Israelis on board. As soon as they cross some imaginary line in the water, millions of shekels are spent on gambling. The courts do not concern themselves with this because of a technicality and yet thousands of taxpayer shekels were wasted bringing this meaningless case against Arutz-7 to court.
Rather than handing down a sentence punishing station owners and management, the courts should demand that the government do what it should have done years ago: give the station a license and funding for the excellent service it provides to Israel?s citizens. After 15 years of service, Arutz-7 deserves better.