Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel now needs stronger public broadcasting more than ever. He made the comment at yesterday's journalism conference in Eilat.
Netanyahu said, "Every country needs public broadcasting, but we need it more than most. I say this precisely because the communications map is developing. Israel faces a two-front cultural threat. From outside we face the threat of a flood of imported material from overseas, while from inside, we face the threat of tribalization and the erosion of our cultural core."
Netanyahu added, "I have no problem with the Israeli cultural mosaic, and everyone can have his own expression, but we must preserve our cultural core. Our cultural core is being eroded, and I think that this is a problem that is affecting the language. There are only six million Hebrew speakers in the world, and our language is being eroded, and basic concepts are pushed into general shallowness. That is why, precisely at this time we need to seek tools to enhance and preserve the core, and I see public broadcasting as a key and critical tool."
Commenting on the current condition of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Netanyahu said, "The argument over IBA, like everything involving money, is 90% budget and 10% what to do with the money."
When Netanyahu served as minister of finance in the Sharon government, he initiated the reduction in the television and radio fee, which is intended to support the IBA.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 2, 2008
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