For the price of a local call - 13 agorot per minute during the day, 5 agorot a minute at night - Arutz-7 radio can continue to be heard by dialing 03-6066-777 (from abroad: 9723-6066-777). It can also be heard, as usual, via the internet (Hebrew on the left, English on the right), or at cellular phone costs at 05-777-7777.
Knesset legislators, particularly Tzvi Hendel and Uri Ariel of the National Union, continue to make efforts to find the appropriate legislative solution enabling Arutz-7 to broadcast regularly. Sentencing for the Arutz-7 ten has been set for Dec. 29. In a letter to the sentencing judge, Justice Yoram Noam, Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin wrote the following:
"Arutz-7, as other radio stations, fulfills the need of a public sector that numbers hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens, who feel that the official radio stations do not speak their language, do not reflect their culture, and are not relevant to their daily lives. As Minister of Communications, I felt that it was incumbent upon me to try to regulate the activities of stations such as Arutz-7, and I planned [such steps] together with the government...
"The reason that Arutz-7 was forced to operate outside the law [from offshore] is because of the lack of available radio frequencies... When digital radio technology becomes operative, the problem will be solved... Within a few years, no one will understand what all the ruckus was about, because dozens of radio stations will be able to broadcast at once.
"The directors of Arutz-7... turned Arutz-7 into a mainstream station, with most impressive listening figures. Hundreds of thousands of listeners, in Israel and abroad, rely on it as their main media source, if not their only one...
"The main problem with pirate radio stations is that they [disturb licensed radio operators and endanger air-traffic]. However, to my knowledge, Arutz-7 broadcasts never caused such disturbances. For this reason, action was not taken against Arutz-7 - unless for transparently political reasons only..."
Knesset legislators, particularly Tzvi Hendel and Uri Ariel of the National Union, continue to make efforts to find the appropriate legislative solution enabling Arutz-7 to broadcast regularly. Sentencing for the Arutz-7 ten has been set for Dec. 29. In a letter to the sentencing judge, Justice Yoram Noam, Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin wrote the following:
"Arutz-7, as other radio stations, fulfills the need of a public sector that numbers hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens, who feel that the official radio stations do not speak their language, do not reflect their culture, and are not relevant to their daily lives. As Minister of Communications, I felt that it was incumbent upon me to try to regulate the activities of stations such as Arutz-7, and I planned [such steps] together with the government...
"The reason that Arutz-7 was forced to operate outside the law [from offshore] is because of the lack of available radio frequencies... When digital radio technology becomes operative, the problem will be solved... Within a few years, no one will understand what all the ruckus was about, because dozens of radio stations will be able to broadcast at once.
"The directors of Arutz-7... turned Arutz-7 into a mainstream station, with most impressive listening figures. Hundreds of thousands of listeners, in Israel and abroad, rely on it as their main media source, if not their only one...
"The main problem with pirate radio stations is that they [disturb licensed radio operators and endanger air-traffic]. However, to my knowledge, Arutz-7 broadcasts never caused such disturbances. For this reason, action was not taken against Arutz-7 - unless for transparently political reasons only..."