Army Radio will begin broadcasting from its new studios in Jerusalem in two weeks, Defense Minister Avgidor Liberman announced on Wednesday.
The opening ceremony for news broadcasts from one of Israel’s main news radio stations will take place on Thursday October 25 with the Dekel-Segal program.
Shortly before the opening ceremony, Liberman along with Army Radio Commander Shimon Alkabetz, officials from the Defense Ministry and the IDF, will lay the cornerstone for Army Radio headquarters.
The radio station will move from its longtime studios in Jaffa to a new 2,500 sqare meter military compound constructed near the main entrance to Jerusalem with new studios that were upgraded and equipped with advanced digital technology and will see a news desk and editing rooms.
The new compound is expected to be built within three years and until then Army Radio will broadcast from its existing studios in Jerusalem. The work on the new compound, which will also have a new recruiting station, is led by the Defense Ministry engineering and construction department.
The new studio will include radio studios Army Radio — known in Hebrew as Galei Tzahal — and its sister music station, Galgalatz as well as the digital broadcasting system.
Last year Liberman announced that the Galei Tzahal and Galgalatz stations would cease being subordinate to the IDF and instead become part of the Defense Ministry but a month later walked back on his plans after a discussion with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
According to statement by the Ministry of Defense, it was decided that the move would not only hurt Army Radio’s independence of a public broadcaster and diminish the channel’s “unique character” but the legislative process to move the channel would be difficult to push through.
Army Radio began its broadcasts in 1950 after taking over for the pre-state Haganah’s broadcasts.
"When I took up the post of Defense Minister, I decided that Army Radio must broadcast from the most worthy place - Jerusalem, our eternal capital. Now we're setting the first facts on the ground and within two weeks of the trial, 'You're listening to Army Radio from Jerusalem' will turn from vision into reality,” Liberman said on Wednesday.
"In September 1950, David Ben-Gurion announced the establishment of the military radio station Galei Tzahal. 70 years later, with the most 'Israeli' sound in the country, the station begins the transition to a new permanent residence in the capital."
On the occasion of the move, the station will be holding a special broadcast day entirely from Jerusalem, the defense ministry said in a statement. As part of the special program news will be broadcast every hour on the hour from Jerusalem and festive edition broadcasts will be preceded by a special broadcast signal.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
