Middle East

Israel officials slam Army Radio show on Palestine poet

Govt ministers blast Israeli Army Radio for airing program about late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish

20.07.2016 - Update : 20.07.2016
Israel officials slam Army Radio show on Palestine poet

Palestinian Territory

By Anees Barghouthi

JERUSALEM

Israeli government ministers on Wednesday denounced Israel’s Army Radio for airing an educational program one day earlier about late Palestinian poet and resistance icon Mahmoud Darwish.

"A public radio station run by the Defense Ministry cannot allow itself to glorify the anti-Israeli narrative," Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev said Wednesday, according to Israeli channel 7.

"Army Radio has gone off the rails," she added. "We must fight Palestinian incitement, not give it a platform on an army [radio] station."

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has since summoned Army Radio chief Yiron Dekel to explain Tuesday evening’s broadcast on the Palestinian nationalist poet.

"It is a serious matter that the works of a man who wrote anti-Zionist texts, which are used to fuel terrorism against Israel, would be featured on an Army Radio program," Lieberman said.

"This should not have happened; it will not go unanswered," he added.

Born in 1941 in British Mandate-era Palestine, Darwish is considered one of the Arab world’s most celebrated poets. His poems have been translated into more than 35 languages.

He died in 2008 in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

 Freedom

Army Radio, meanwhile, defended the broadcast, saying the program sought to "enrich and engage" listeners with a variety of subjects.

"We believe that academic freedom obliges us to offer our listeners a wealth of ideas," the broadcaster said in a Wednesday statement.

Arab-Israeli lawmaker Ahmed al-Tibi, for his part, defended Darwish and his literary works against Israeli criticisms.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, al-Tibi accused the Israeli culture minister of "not even knowing who Darwish is".

"He was a poet of love, justice and peace -- values in stark contrast to those of [Culture Minister] Regev, which are based on occupation, racism and fascism," the lawmaker said.


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