There are approximately 700,000 deaf and hearing impaired people in Israel according to the Coalition of Associations for the Deaf. Some local television programs make provision for them by having a small on-screen image of a person talking sign-language in almost simultaneous translation of the sound.
Up until today – Monday – the deaf and hearing impaired did not have access to radio programs. But now they can at least follow the popular 'It's all Talk' current affairs program on Israel Radio's Reshet Bet. The program which is also video-taped, will be shown live on the Israel Broadcasting Authority website. The broadcast for the deaf and hearing impaired is being held in conjunction with the start of a national six-day fund-raiser for the benefit of associations for the deaf. The Education Ministry has given permission for students participating in door-knock collections for this purpose to absent themselves from the classroom.
