Broadcasting Brotherhood? Interactive Diplomacy and Postcolonial Identity in Kol Yisrael’s African Services, 1960-1966

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.