Edelstein secures funding for Israel Radio's Persian Service

By YAAKOV KATZ
Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein has secured the funding for the continued operation of Israel Radio's Persian Service. On Monday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the radio service was under the threat of closure if NIS 1 million was not transferred to Bezeq for a new antenna in the coming weeks. The radio service is Israel's only line of communication with the Iranian people and is broadcast daily by Menashe Amir, one of Israel's leading experts on Iran. The radio broadcasts are transmitted to Los Angeles and then diverted to Iran where they are believed to be listened to by millions of Iranians daily for almost 50 years. In a letter Edelstein sent to Israel Broadcasting Authority Chairman Moshe Gavish, Edelstein revealed that he had secured a budget of NIS 3 million for the Persian Radio Service for the next two years. The funds will come from the Information and Diaspora Ministry.