Was Ben-Gurion Right? Does Television Undermine Israeli Culture?
Shalom Fingarhut, a religious educator, fears the influence of television but sees no possibility of keeping it out of his living room. So he tries to ensure that his children use discretion when they decide what to watch. “I think I’ve been pretty successful,” he says. Nevertheless, he observes with mild despair, “when some torrid or suggestive episode appears on the screen, my daughter reacts by covering her face with her hand. Of course, I can’t be sure she isn’t glimpsing the screen through the gaps between her fingers.” Things would be easier for Fingarhut had David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, succeeded in his attempt to prevent the introduction of television to the Jewish state. Ben-Gurion’s objections had nothing to do with sexual…
