Israeli Premier Shimon Peres will inaugurate a monthly series of live conversations with American audiences via satellite TV at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 28 in a special telecast from Jerusalem marking the 37th anniversay of Israel’s independence. The program is believed to be the first of its kind in which an Israeli Premier will speak directly with Jewish and Christian friends of Israel in the U.S. via TV.
In the New York area, the program will be seen live from 4-6 p.m. on WNYC-TV (Channel 31) and on Manhattan Cable TV and Group W Cable (Channel 3). The Catholic Diocese Network of Long Island will present a delayed version of the hour-long special at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on Cablevision, Group W and other cable channels in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
The program will also be seen live in Corpus Christi, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas. In Los Angeles, the program will be seen on Channel 18 with a three hour delay, beginning at 4 p.m. local time.
The TV special will open with informal remarks by Peres on the occasion of Israel’s Independence Day followed by an interview conducted by three Israeli journalists. At 4:14 p.m. Peres will begin a half-hour conversation with Kenneth Bialkin in New York and Phil Blazer in Los Angeles. Bialkin is chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Blazer is publisher of the newspaper, Israel Today. The final 15 minutes of the hour-long program will originate from Jerusalem.
The program is sponsored by the Israel Government Tourist Office in New York. It is being produced by E-Star — a joint venture of World Communications and General Satellite Services Co. of Israel — and Israel Instructional TV, the educational TV service of Israel. The program is being distributed in the U.S. by World Communications, headed by Gary Worth, president.
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