Veteran Broadcaster Menachem Perry Launches Kol Yisrael Archive
Veteran Israeli broadcaster Menachem Perry has launched a digital archive honoring more than 150 iconic announcers of the historic Kol Yisrael radio station.
In the early decades of Israeli radio, broadcasting required impeccable Hebrew, a rolling 'R', and an authoritative voice even for weather reports. Today, that classic style is fading, notes Menachem Perry, a veteran radio broadcaster who is launching a new digital archive honoring the iconic announcers of Kol Yisrael.
Perry, who turns 80 next month, has spent months gathering photos, biographies, and audio clips of more than 150 announcers from the station's founding in May 1948 until its closure in May 2017. Working alongside technophile and fellow announcer Naftali Menashe, Perry utilized AI-driven tools to build the archive website independently.
Reflecting on his career, Perry recalls his start as a sound engineer before entering the rigorous 1971 announcer training course, where out of 1,250 candidates only seven graduated. Among his peers was renowned author David Grossman, who was dropped just weeks before graduation due to a lack of a sufficiently authoritative voice.
While broadcasting standards have relaxed over the years—such as dropping the mandatory rolling 'R'—Perry remains passionate about preserving the legacy of Israel's golden era of radio for future researchers and listeners.
