Israel is expected to agree shortly to a request from the Reagan Administration to build a $200 million transmitter here to relay Voice of America radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union.
The Americans have been pressing for this for some time but Israel was reluctant to further aggravate its bitter relations with the USSR. Recently the Administration reportedly increased its pressure, after several European countries rejected a similar request.
Reagan is known to personally put great stock in the VOA broadcasts behind the Iron Curtain. The Americans reportedly proposed that the new relay station would be used to transmit overseas programs aimed at the Jewish communities within the Soviet bloc.
Political sources here are said to believe that in light of Israel’s close relations with the U.S. and the absence of formal relations with Moscow, there is no longer any point in turning down Washington’s request.
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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.
