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Radio Propaganda

  • Israel
  • Documentary
  • 2023
  • 82 min.
  • Director(s): Ofer Pinchasov
  • Producer(s): Ofer Pinchasov

Synopsis

The film brings for the first time the story of the Israeli radio station Beit Shidir. With the establishment of the State of Israel and the immigration of Jews from Arab countries, the radio station was an active site for producing intelligence and political warfare against Arab countries in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

From the outside, it was a radio station that broadcast news and songs in Arabic, whereas in practice, the broadcasts were used by the administration for propaganda, psychological warfare, changing public opinion in Arab countries, and activating agents through codes implanted within the broadcasts. Soon the broadcasts became the most terrifying threat that agitated the rulers of the Arab world, and the broadcasters in it were named by the competing radio stations ‘The Israel Broadcasting Corporation’s Propaganda Orchestra’.

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Credits

Director(s)

Ofer Pinchasov

Producer(s)

Ofer Pinchasov

Cinematography

Danor Glaser

Editor

Tor Ben Mayor

Original Music

Moshe Daaboul

Original Language

Arabic, Hebrew

Subtitles

Hebrew, English

Research

Dudi Patimer

Sound Design

Ronen Nagel

Graphics and Animation

Yuval Banayan

Visual Research

Hagit Ben Yaakov, Ofer Pinchasov

Festival Highlights

  • WINNER

    Best Soundtrack
    Docaviv
    2023

  • WINNER

    David A. Stein Memorial Award
    Toronto Jewish Film Festival
    2024

Docaviv, Israel, Official Competition, 2023

Centre Film Festival, USA, Official Selection, 2023

Festival du Cinéma Israélien de Paris, France, Official Selection, 2024

New York Sephardic JFF, USA, Official Selection, 2024

Reviews

  • "A wonderful documentary."
    - Naom Fatchi, Israel Hayom
  • "In this documentary, music functions as one of the main characters, giving a voice to the public and reflecting the exclusion of many people who under different circumstances could serve as a bridge between Israel and its neighbors."
    - Docaviv Jury Justification for Best Soundtrack Award
  • "This fascinating story has never been told publicly before. "
    - Yair Dalal
  • "The story of the Voice of Israel in Arabic opens a window to a broader, deeper history of radio in the Middle East, the Sephradic Jews, and the Arabic language."
    - The Van Leer Institute
  • "It's not for nothing that Pinchasov's film won the Soundtrack Award at the last Docaviv Festival, among other things for its brilliant and genius opening."
    - Mako
  • "The surprising, previously untold story of The Voice of Israel in Arabic reflects the persuasive power of radio in the early decades of the state. Highlighting the popular music and personalities of the times, the documentary examines the role of the broadcasts—directed at the neighboring Arab countries–as both a bridge between cultures and a strategy of psychological warfare. It also presents a fresh angle on the experience of Jewish immigrants from those lands, the hardships they faced and the societal tensions involved. With its creative use of archival material and compelling personal accounts, Radio Propaganda is a powerful, multilayered film with a sharp contemporary resonance."
    - Toronto JFF Jury Statement

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