Against the reported opposition of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, the Cabinet, at its regular weekly session here today, accepted the offer of the Rothschild Trust to finance an educational television project in Israel. Abba Eban, Minister of Education and Culture, was instructed by the Government to present the issue to the Knesset, Parliament, later this week.
Under the terms of the Cabinet’s mandate, the educational television project will be conducted experimentally for a period of two to three years, during which the Ministry of Education will have exclusive jurisdiction over programming and instruction to be transmitted by TV. The construction and maintenance costs will be borne by the Rothschild Trust.
After two to three years, the Government is to reconsider the entire issue. If, by that time, it is decided to continue educational-TV broadcasting here, the television setup will become part of the Government’s responsibility, similar to the Government ownership of the present radio and postal services.
The project is expected to have tough opposition when it comes before the Knesset. However, in view of the collective responsibility rule in the Government, which prohibits members of the coalition from opposing a Government motion supported by a Cabinet majority, the project is expected to receive parliamentary approval.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
