Two very different stories for you this week; the first about a potentially exciting development in Israeli media outreach, and the second, an uplifting story that restores faith in human nature.

First, I doubt many of you will have been gripped with excitement at the prospect of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu briefing the Knesset's State Control Committee on Monday. This kind of meeting is invariably a media non-event, but on Monday 'Bibi' put forward plans to change the landscape of Israeli media outreach, a plan that I have suggested for years now could make a big difference in how Israel is perceived by the outside world.

Now, I'm not suggesting for one moment that the PM has been listening in to my conversations and has filched my brainwaves, (there would me much to 'filch' on a regular basis, believe me!), so let's just say that on this occasion, we are both thinking along the same lines.

If you switch on your digital TV these days and start flicking through the myriad of news channels, you will come across a host of international stations broadcasting 24 hour news in English from the perspective of their particular domain. Here are a few examples:

1) The Brits have BBC News 24 and SKY News
2) The Americans have CNN, Fox, NBC etc
3) India has the STAR TV news service
4) China have their own station, rather amusingly (in view of their state obsession with monitoring people) called CCTV
5) The Arab world is famously represented by Al Jazeera
6) Russia has its own 24-hour news channel in English
7) Even the French, who generally don't like having to lower themselves to speaking our language, have France 24
8) And the word is that even Iran is contemplating a 24-hour English news channel to sell their idea of what's going on in the world

I have long been of the opinion that it is essential for Israel to enter the 24-hour digital news age and offer our own perspective on the matters that directly affect us, as well as all the major international news stories. The channel would also be a suitable vehicle for showing Israeli culture, arts, cooking and tourism programmes and would redress the imbalance in the impression of the overwhelming majority of people unfamiliar with our country, that this is not a place where you have to wear a tin hat to go to the shops, that has bomb sites all over, and is only marginally more fun than North Korea on a good day –do they have good days in North Korea?

To be fair to Bibi, he suggests taking the idea a stage further and broadcasting separately in English, Hebrew and Arabic. That's a good call. Although it will be very difficult, just exposing the Arab speaking world to unedited Israeli perspectives of the issues in the region might at least make some people think twice about their long held beliefs and prejudices.

So, this is probably the right juncture for me to put in an early job application to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a native English speaker who moved permanently to live in Israel 3 years ago this week, (no card necessary, but a pat on the back for surviving this far wouldn't go amiss)!

I have many years, (very many years) experience as a broadcast journalist in the British media in television, radio, internet etc, and would very much like to be considered for the role of roving reporter for any potential culture/food programmes based in Israel, for the new 24-hour Israeli channel.

As far as 'fressing' goes, I'm up there with the best of them, and really like sampling foods from all culinary backgrounds, (especially if someone else is paying). I was once a fairly accomplished musician, am familiar with many arts and cultural areas of interest, and would be happy for you to provide me with tickets to plays, concerts and art galleries whilst finding the time to say a few words 'on camera' to make it all worthwhile, or, (at a push) joining in on the clarinet or saxophone to play us out over the credits with a couple of choruses of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' in F major, or 'Sunrise, Sunset' in A minor.

I have already thought of a name for the programme – 'Alster's All-Star Israel'. Catchy hey!

Please contact and sign me up at your earliest convenience, to avoid disappointment.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Alster


Second, (and in brief), I would like to offer my thanks to the lovely Arab lady who so kindly came to the rescue of Paz, the kids and I, when I managed to get us lost whilst taking a 'short cut' to avoid a traffic jam on Route 6 but found myself instead in the middle of the Arab town of Baka al Garbieh.

After trying to explain to me how to reach the next junction of the motorway to avoid the crowds, she offered instead to guide us there, even though she was heading in the opposite direction. After a 15 minute drive through back streets and farm tracks she led us to the slip road back to the motorway. We thanked her profusely and she said it had been her pleasure, she hoped we all had a wonderful weekend, but she must rush because her patients would now be waiting for her.

Whether she was a doctor, nurse, physio or acupuncturist, I don't know. But she was tremendously kind and generous with her time, and we were all very grateful to her for seeing us safely on our way.

Good things do happen between Jews and Arabs in this land, but unfortunately it's the bad news that people seem to want to hear and that invariably puts more bums on seats.
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