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T he First Broadcast of Kol Yisrael
I zi Mann
Israel's broadcasting station, Kol Yisrael, was born together with the
country, at exactly the same time. Previously the name had belonged to
the Hagana radio.
When the British decided that the Mandate would end on Saturday, May 15, 1948, "the
leaders of the Yishuv were faced with the option of bringing the declaration forward to
Friday afternoon," recalls Mordechai Zlotnik, director of the "HaSha'a HaIvrit" (Hebrew
Hour) program on Kol Yerushalayim [a station operated by the Palestinian Broadcast
Corporation – the official broadcaster of the British Mandate] and anchor of the historic
first broadcast. "Until that Friday morning it wasn't clear whether we would manage to
inaugurate the new station in time, and if we could, at the same time, also carry out an
external transmission from the site of the ceremony. Under the circumstances, we were
forced to inaugurate the broadcast without any possibility of carrying out testing to see
if it was working properly and if it was being received clearly, but the occasion was an
historic one and the challenge was so tremendous that we decided to take the risk."
Intensive work was carried out at the station in Tel Haim, and everything was ready.
Suddenly, during the afternoon, there was an electricity failure. Fortunately – and there
were those who suggested that Divine Providence may have played a role – the current
resumed eight minutes before 4pm, and at exactly 4, anchors Mordechai Zlotnik and Rita
Persitz, who had been given the honor of covering the declaration ceremony live from the
Tel Aviv Museum, could be heard. Zlotnik opened with the words, "Listen to Kol Yisrael.
Listen to Kol Yisrael." Immediately thereafter the crowd in the museum began singing
HaTikva. After the anthem he continued, "On this fateful day for the Jewish People, the
leaders of the nation have gathered here in Tel Aviv to establish the State of Israel. This
day – Independence Day – is a great day, and it is a great occasion."
L ater on during the broadcast he revealed the most closely-kept secret – the place from
which he was broadcasting. "Now it can safely be revealed: We are in the hall of the Tel
Aviv Museum." Only years later would Rita Persitz, his fellow anchor, reveal another great
secret: the place where the two of them were sitting, and from which the broadcast was
being transmitted. Upon reaching the hall, she discovered that the microphone which
she and Zlotnik were supposed to use, had been placed in the passageway, "right near the
bathrooms," as Pinchas Jurman wrote in his book, The First 32 Minutes. Owing to the
crowding it was clear that no other, more suitable location could be found, and so, she
recounts, "We tried to talk as little as possible and to transmit the ceremony as it was, with
a minimum of commentary." From time to time, she recalled years later, two journalists
whom she knew – Shimon Samet from HaAretz and Meir Ben-Gur, coordinator of night
A State is Born 99
I zi Mann
Israel's broadcasting station, Kol Yisrael, was born together with the
country, at exactly the same time. Previously the name had belonged to
the Hagana radio.
When the British decided that the Mandate would end on Saturday, May 15, 1948, "the
leaders of the Yishuv were faced with the option of bringing the declaration forward to
Friday afternoon," recalls Mordechai Zlotnik, director of the "HaSha'a HaIvrit" (Hebrew
Hour) program on Kol Yerushalayim [a station operated by the Palestinian Broadcast
Corporation – the official broadcaster of the British Mandate] and anchor of the historic
first broadcast. "Until that Friday morning it wasn't clear whether we would manage to
inaugurate the new station in time, and if we could, at the same time, also carry out an
external transmission from the site of the ceremony. Under the circumstances, we were
forced to inaugurate the broadcast without any possibility of carrying out testing to see
if it was working properly and if it was being received clearly, but the occasion was an
historic one and the challenge was so tremendous that we decided to take the risk."
Intensive work was carried out at the station in Tel Haim, and everything was ready.
Suddenly, during the afternoon, there was an electricity failure. Fortunately – and there
were those who suggested that Divine Providence may have played a role – the current
resumed eight minutes before 4pm, and at exactly 4, anchors Mordechai Zlotnik and Rita
Persitz, who had been given the honor of covering the declaration ceremony live from the
Tel Aviv Museum, could be heard. Zlotnik opened with the words, "Listen to Kol Yisrael.
Listen to Kol Yisrael." Immediately thereafter the crowd in the museum began singing
HaTikva. After the anthem he continued, "On this fateful day for the Jewish People, the
leaders of the nation have gathered here in Tel Aviv to establish the State of Israel. This
day – Independence Day – is a great day, and it is a great occasion."
L ater on during the broadcast he revealed the most closely-kept secret – the place from
which he was broadcasting. "Now it can safely be revealed: We are in the hall of the Tel
Aviv Museum." Only years later would Rita Persitz, his fellow anchor, reveal another great
secret: the place where the two of them were sitting, and from which the broadcast was
being transmitted. Upon reaching the hall, she discovered that the microphone which
she and Zlotnik were supposed to use, had been placed in the passageway, "right near the
bathrooms," as Pinchas Jurman wrote in his book, The First 32 Minutes. Owing to the
crowding it was clear that no other, more suitable location could be found, and so, she
recounts, "We tried to talk as little as possible and to transmit the ceremony as it was, with
a minimum of commentary." From time to time, she recalled years later, two journalists
whom she knew – Shimon Samet from HaAretz and Meir Ben-Gur, coordinator of night
A State is Born 99
