More from Friday of old Jerusalem,
And today – Israel Television and Broadcasting Authority building, Romema.
The television and broadcasting channel building in Romema was originally built as the diamond polishing center of Jerusalem to provide work for the city’s residents.
The building was built on the initiative of Pinchas Sapir, the mythical Minister of Finance.
The building was designed by the architect Reuven Trostler, who at the time designed dozens of industrial and commercial buildings, and was part of the Tel Arza industrial area, where Tnuva dairies, the Amkor factory, Rafa laboratories, and more were located, among others.
The building was inaugurated towards the end of 1960 and was occupied by diamond polishing machines and a branch of Union Bank was opened on the ground floor, for the benefit of the many financial transactions that were supposed to take place there.
Plans separately and reality separately-
The building and the complex did not rise, the polishing machines filled only a small part of the building, and in 1964 the local diamond center closed with a weak response.
In mid-1966 the building was purchased by the Ministry of Finance for the benefit of the Broadcasting Authority, and in early 1967 the building was announced as the headquarters of the Broadcasting Authority.
The Educational television began operating as early as March 1966, And in 1968, the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s television was established, accompanied by an American consultant, John Stern, vice president of the American CBS.
The first broadcast was the Israel Defense Forces parade on Independence Day 1968.
On the first of August 1968, the first edition of Mabat for the news started, presented by Mr. Television – Haim Yavin, the man, and the revolution.
The building and the complex have undergone many transformations –
The building next door called Beit Hahotim was bought by the Broadcasting Authority, in the neighboring building were the offices of Kol Israel, the national radio of that time, and between the two buildings, a large television studio was set up that also accommodated an audience, where programs such as such a life, music programs, and more were filmed.
Over the years, the orthodox population in the area grew, and the TV and radio people had a problem accessing the compound on Saturdays and holidays.
In 1992, the Jerusalem Development Authority initiated a move to Kiryat Communications for the Broadcasting Authority in the old Sha’are Zedek complex.
The financing of the project was planned from the sale of the real estate and land in Romema, in order not to burden the state’s budget.
But as it is in our country – plans separately and reality separately, And only the budgets and public funds continue to flow like water.
The new complex was unoccupied, the first channel left the television building in 2017, the sign on the building was removed, and a glorious period ended.
In September 2019, a large fire broke out in the abandoned building that housed the homeless and street dwellers, and the building was severely damaged.
In June 2021, the building was demolished and a residential complex for the orthodox population was built in its place.
This is our Jerusalem.
A craft building for polishing diamonds, which turns into television studios that are built on high floors, which broadcasted the emerging history of the State of Israel in black and white,
In the channel that was the national tribal campfire, from which the good news came out to the people living in Zion, the upheaval, the peace agreements, until its demolition and the building of a new residential neighborhood to solve the housing crisis for the population that dominates the area.
Shabbat Shalom to all, far and near, from Jerusalem.
