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Education on today's television? Let's see if you can find it Israel today

2022-08-18T11:00:00.272Z


"Today, in order to absorb education and knowledge through television, you have to want it and choose for yourself"


When we vacillate between Keshet and the network, between Netflix and Disney+, it is hard to imagine how, from the founding of the state until the mid-sixties, there was a direct struggle between two schools of thought on the question of whether Israeli television should be established at all.

For two decades they argued.

Debates in the Knesset, professional committees, opinion articles in newspapers, rabbis cried out, foreign businessmen offered to invest money.

Meanwhile, more and more television sets entered homes and only received channels from the neighboring Arab countries.

Those in favor of the move emphasized the possibilities of education through the background and highlighted the fact that it would be possible to provide the same teaching quality to both the upper class and the lower classes.

Opponents posited three potentially devastating effects: the youth frenzy;

penetration of Americanization;

And also the influence of Eastern-Arab culture, which was perceived as "low", and there was a fear that instead of watching concerts, the public would prefer to see belly dancers.

For years, David Ben-Gurion stood at the forefront of the opposition.

Back in 1952, he met David Sarnoff, a Jewish businessman who was one of the pioneers of the radio and television industry, founded the NBC network and earned the nickname "General" - because he served in the US Army's communications corps. "The electronic general Sarnoff came to me.

First we argued about television," wrote "the old man" in his memoirs, "Sarnoff tried to prove to me that it has an educational benefit, and I argued that it may have an educational benefit, but in fact it is often an educational harm."

In 1960, Ben-Gurion flew to visit Paris, met with President de Gaulle and was invited to stay at a farm in Normandy that belonged to the French ambassador to Israel, Pierre Gilbert.

At the same time, French television was showing a documentary about bees, which included microscopic photographs of the hive's activity.

This was the moment when Ben-Gurion's opinion about television changed.

The old man stood mesmerized by the screen and responded like a child: "Unbelievable, how did they get into the hive? Look at the queen! Wonder of wonders, I never imagined that such things could be shown in such an educational and enlightening way."

Six years later, educational television was founded.

Its broadcasts were limited to the morning and afternoon hours and were intended for students.

They were launched in math, biology and English classes.

The contents were chosen by a pedagogical committee, and the facilitators were trained teachers.

It was like a school lesson, only filmed.

This is how television began in Israel.

Today, in the commercial channels, values ​​and education are treated as something that is planted in trash programs to feel good about themselves.

Messages about the bride, attitude towards others, tradition, etc. can only be found in subtext, and general knowledge can be acquired through games, reality TV missions or watching the news.

What does not serve the god of ratings is less important.

Since we upgraded to technology that allows watching programs from an infinite VOD pool, the responsibility has fallen from the shoulders of regulators and channel managers.

The educational content is there, but hidden in the streaming.

There are great documentaries about every period in history, about music, wars, animals, heritage, and even films about Ben-Gurion.

Today, in order to absorb education and knowledge through television, you have to want it and choose for yourself.

Because if we rely on the broadcasts on the broadcast channels, our brains will very quickly degenerate.

nirw@israelhayom.co.il

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-08-18

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