Abstract

Between 1960 and 1963, the Israeli government transmitted daily radio programmes to Africa through the state broadcaster Kol Yisrael. Taped programmes in English, French and Swahili were also distributed across the continent while African broadcasters were trained in Israel – practices which continued long after the termination of direct services. At the height of Kol Yisrael’s influence, many officials considered these services to be a crucial part of the nation’s public diplomacy. In subsequent accounts of Israel’s relationship with Africa, however, the role of these broadcasts has been all but ignored. This paper examines the content and reception of Israeli radio broadcasts for Africans as a function of Israel’s international relations. Drawing on transcripts, listener letters and recently declassified archival files, it contends that broadcasts created meaningful expressions of Afro-Israeli solidarity. At the same time, however, Israeli broadcasters often failed to recognise that listeners were interacting with their programmes in new and unexpected ways. By examining the agency and activity of Kol Yisrael’s African listeners, it aims to re-centre the role of the ‘public’ within public diplomacy and make a case for the critical but complicated role of the media in postcolonial international relations.

摘要

1960 年至 1963 年间，以色列政府通过国家广播公司Kol Yisrael向非洲播放每日广播节目。英语、法语和斯瓦希里语的录音节目也在整个非洲大陆分发，同时非洲广播员在以色列接受培训——这种做法在直接服务终止后很长时间仍然存在。在Kol Yisrael的鼎盛时期的影响，许多官员认为这些服务是国家公共外交的重要组成部分。然而，在随后对以色列与非洲关系的描述中，这些广播的作用几乎被忽略了。本文考察了以色列对非洲人广播的内容和接收情况，作为以色列国际关系的一个功能。根据文字记录、听众来信和最近解密的档案文件，它认为广播创造了非洲-以色列团结的有意义的表达。然而，与此同时，以色列广播公司往往未能认识到听众正在以新的和意想不到的方式与他们的节目互动。通过考察 Kol Yisrael 非洲听众的代理和活动，