The Israeli broadcasting system is extensive and sophisticated. Much of it is government-funded, and it is utilized by the government to get its message out both to the Israeli people and to the rest of the world regarding issues of import and especially regarding attitudes toward and relations with Israel's Arab neighbors. Many of the television and radio outlets not only broadcast their signal but make it available on the Internet and so reach even more of the world than would otherwise be the case. The system has grown rapidly because it has been empowered by the government in a desire to convey its message to the outside world as well as to the people, based on the view that an informed populace would be better prepared for the sorts of crises that face this small country surrounded by countries perceived as enemies and often faced with wartime conditions.
Radio began operation under the British Mandate (1922 48), which established the "Voice of Jerusalem" to create an awareness of the educational value of broadcasting and its political influence and to keep an eye on the burgeoning broadcasting potential of the small Jewish community. The official radio station came on the air on March 30, 1936 to serve the Jewish and Arab populations as well as British administration officials. With the establishment of the State of Israel, the name of the radio station was changed to Kol Yisrael (the Voice of Israel), and the military radio station Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) started. These two stations long constituted the country's entire broadcasting system, which was monolithic and government controlled. In 1965, Israel became the first country in the world to have educational TV before general purpose TV, with the service approved by the government. The Rothschild Foundation provided funding. Later, educational TV was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and it remains a unit of the ministry ...