The Israel Army Radio ("Galatz" or just "IDF Radio") is probably the only military radio station in the world that combines first-class news editions and reports, up-to-date rock & pop, programs for teenagers, adults and soldiers, and is pluralistic, almost free of direct cencorship - and popular among the listeners.
If you've seen the movie "Good Morning Vietnam" starring Robin Williams - forget it. It's nothing like that.
Almost half of the station is being run by young soldiers, aged 18-22. The senior editors are usually civillians. The station's manager is appointed by the minister of defence. The soldiers work as producers, editors, reporters, audio technicians, DJ's and musical editors.
Is it "normal" for journalists to run around in uniform, hang out around army generals and politicans, and ask hard questions? well, it isn't. But Israel is not a normal country. Israel is a post-democracy, operating an anti-democratic military occupation over the Palestinian people, and living in constant fear of destruction from hostile neighbours. The small state (5.5 million Jews, 1.3 million Israeli Arab citizens, 3 million non-citizen Palestinians) is still living the memory of the Jewish Holocaust ("Shoa"), which wiped out 1/3 of the entire Jewish people in the years 1940-1945.
Since the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is an integral part of Israeli life, the army radio is also an integral part of the Israeli media. The young soldiers bring "new blood" to the system, forcing the older editors to pick up on the latest trends. The constant changes in manpower create a dynamic work-zone.
The army radio is "Galey-Zahal" in Hebrew, which means "IDF waves". It was established in 1950 by prime minister (and minister of defence) David Ben-Gurion. The station's building is located in Jaffa's Yehuda Hayamit street, a part of the city of Tel-Aviv.
Although the station is a military unit, it broadcasts to all of Israel - from the north, where the soldiers serving in the Lebanon & Syrian borders, to sunny Eilat in the south, meeting Egypt and Jordan. The army radio operates a second studio at the heart of Jerusalem, just 1 mile from the Knesset (Israeli parliament) and the Israeli high court. The Jerusalem studio is used mostly for news broadcasts.
The Israeli Army Radio became the most popular station for the younger generation of Israelis - from 6 to 46, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year (most radio stations in Israel shut down at "Yom Kippur"), FM and AM. Its' only competitors are the people in the governmental IBA - Israel Broadcasting Authority. In recent years, the army radio has become more popular than the IBA radio stations, which have stagnated under political pressures.
But first let's make one thing clear - in Israel, Military service is compulsory - almost every 18-year-old, male or female, must join the Army. It's the law - what can you do? Males serve 3 years (officers serve 4), females serve 1 year and 9 months (or 2 years max.). About 30% of the Israeli youth don't get recruited at all - not everyone fit the minimal requirements, and not everyone are Jewish - the IDF recruites only Jewish, Druze, Cherkesian & Beduine citizens. Many ultra-orthodox Jews are not recruited, a fact which causes considerable political & social tensions between Israelis.
I served 3.5 years in the station. They used to add a 6-month-extra-service then, but now it's cancelled. I was supposed to join the paratroops - but luckily for me, I broke my right arm while training for the service. Before I started working, I went through a 1-month course in radio journalism.
I worked as a military reporter for art & entertainment. It sounds great, I know - going to theater and ballet shows, operas and rock concerts. It was great - but it was also pretty hard work. Waking up at 5:30 every day and going to sleep at about 1am - it's a full-time job. I worked weekends, too.
I got to travel all over Israel (which is small, but diverse), met hundreds of artists, musicians, impresarios, politicians, agents and actors - every day. But that doesn't mean that I wasn't a soldier - almost all the reporters wear uniform all the time, I guarded my base (which is the station building) with an M-16 rifle, I went to a shooting range every 4 months, cleaned my department for the weekly inspection and of course - never said anything terribly "negative" about the IDF on the air. It's logical - after all, the station belongs to the army.
Thousands of young Israelis try to get in IAR every year. Only about 30 make it pass the tests each year. I wasn't better than the rest of the applicants, just luckier. Although I've been part of the IAR through 1995-1999, I still serve there once in a while as a "reserve soldier". That means you can't really leave the station, if you're male (most females don't serve in the reserves).
It was an exciting, hard and challanging experience. It really opened my eyes to the world - understanding how the entertainment industry works, how artists behave and react to the media, and how politicians choose to deal with artists who need public funding.
If you want some more info on the station, email me. In 2004, Jonathan Gadir from Australia's ABC radio network interviewed me for this media report.
If you understand Hebrew - the Israel Army Radio official site is GLZ.co.il - it has online news and some basic information on the station. If you have the Microsoft Media player plug-in, you can listen to the GLZ online live broadcast.
