Miri Regev seeks to open ‘nostalgic’ radio station

“It is the moral duty of a nation to give thanks to its artists, public and State radio in Israel is the appropriate stage and so it will be,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI
Updated: FEBRUARY 8, 2016 05:15
Miri Regev (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Miri Regev
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev announced on Sunday she had reached an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish a new radio station.
The “nostalgic” radio station will incorporate talk shows and play songs mainly by veteran Israeli artists, Regev said.
“It is the moral duty of a nation to give thanks to its artists and public, and state radio in Israel is the appropriate stage and so it will be,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
The station is intended to provide a platform for veteran artists who today are struggling to receive recognition.
The announcement came a day after veteran singer Gabi Shoshan was found dead in his home in Holon in an apparent suicide at the age of 66.
“The death of Gabi Shoshan flooded the need again to provide a platform for veteran artists and for the cultural wealth of Israel throughout the years.
I see great importance in recognizing and honoring veteran creations and artists which to date, unfortunately, do not receive this [recognition] in their lifetimes,” Regev wrote in her Facebook post.
Since becoming culture minister last May, Regev has declared it her mission to change the face of public radio. She caused a stir in recent months following a public battle to have the Galgalatz radio station add more Israeli artists and Mizrahi music on its playlist.