Making news
Female Druse news anchor makes history
There have been a lot of new faces on Channel 1 news and actuality programs over the past 18 months, despite the fact that the Israel Broadcasting Authority is set to cease operations on April 30, replaced by the Israel Broadcasting Corporation.
While in the process of becoming history, IBA is also making history in on Saturday evening, for the first time, its Channel 1 featured a female Druse presenter on the weekend news.
Ghadir Kamal Meriach, 32, is married and a mother of two children and has been working at IBA since 2011. Up until now, she has been presenting the main news broadcast on its Arabic channel, which she will continue to do.
Yoram Cohen, the acting editor of IBA’s news department, regards Meriach as an excellent presenter. He said it was high time that minorities were given equal opportunities in Israel’s communications industry.
Meriach was commended on Saturday’s broadcast by veteran news presenter, interviewer, journalist, program host and Israel Prize laureate Yaakov Ahimeir for doing a very professional job. He wished her luck in her expanded career.
This does not depend solely on majority employers. There are cultural traditions to overcome. While female Arab news presenters and journalists, who have had to combat traditional values, have been around for decades, and can be seen on the television screens of neighboring countries as well as in Israel, the Druse community, with rare exceptions, continues to take a more conservative attitude to having its women work outside the village.
Meriach is one of the exceptions to the rule and lives in Daliat al-Carmel, where Rafik Halabi, the prize winning bestknown Druse journalist working in the Hebrew media, is currently the mayor, having been elected in 2013. Halabi is one of several Druse who have worked or are working in the Hebrew media. He covered the West Bank for Channel 1 for eight years.
Halabi was subsequently news director of IBA but quit, saying his authority was undermined by management approaching journalists behind his back. He said he did not mind continuing to work for IBA but refused to take responsibility for reports he did not assign or approve.