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 FRIDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2007

Jewish Chronicle Top news stories: Ministers to pay for security in schools The government pledged this week to help meet the spiralling cost of security at Jewish Schools - a commitment welcomed by governors and community leaders.   I'm too sexy for an IDF Shirt One of Israel's top models has become the country's most controversial celebrity ater slamming the Jewish state and boasting of having beaten the IDF draft.   Cut down in his prime: a gifted young rabbi with all to live for A 30-year-old rabbi, widely seen as one of the most gifted of his generation, died at the weekend.   Features: How a pick-up guru made me irresistible to women Adam Lyons teaches a 'scientific formula' which he claims lets men easily seduce attractive women.   Interview:   World News: Report hands Olmert a political reprieve Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's political standing received a boost this week when the Winograd Commission investigating the handling of last year's Lebanon War revealed that it would not be issuing personal recommendations in its final report into the actions of those involved in the controversial conflict.   Comment and Analysis: Why the al-Dura film still matters We must be told whether an infamous French TV report was in fact faked.   Arts & Books: Operation counterfeit Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky tells Nick Johnstone how being a 'Nazi descendant' moved him to make a film about Jews forced to fake banknotes for the Third Reich   Judaism: Dancing around taboos There are places where young religious Israelis can party, despite the rabbinic frowns.   Sport: Patched-up Israel face uphill task Israel's plans for tomorrows' must-win match against group leaders Croatia have been thrown into disarray after their squad was hit by injuries and suspensions.   Spurs tie looms for Hapoel Hapoel Tel Aviv, the last remaining Israeli representatives in Europe this season, have been handed a dream draw after being paired in the same group as Spurs.   Don't miss the JC and JCD Chanukah card competition Its simple. All you have to do is design a Chanukah card. There are four age categories: ages 4-7, 8-11, 12-15 and 16-18. The lucky winners will receive a £50 John Lewis Voucher. The designs will be printed on Chanukah cards and sent around the world, to bring a smile to the faces of hundreds of children helped every day by JCD.     Jewish history at your fingertips with The JC ARCHIVES

n Dismore speaks up for local radio

Andrew Dismore MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Hendon, raised the need for a permanent licence for Jewish radio station Shalom FM, during a debate on community radio in Parliament on the 24th April.

Mr. Dismore said: “Shalom FM provides a very important service to the Jewish community in London, and it is a matter of regret that its application for a permanent license was turned down in the last round. Having had four restricted services licences over the years since 2002, Shalom FM has shown that it is providing a much needed service and is a viable station.  I very much hope that it will receive its permanent licence in the next round, which I understand will take place later this year”.

n Radio makes waves to get broadcast licence
(from Ham and High)

26 January 2007
Katie Davies

GOLDERS Green radio station Shalom FM is hoping to tune in to Tony Blair by taking its battle for a permanent licence to the Houses of Parliament.

Shalom FM, the country's only dedicated Jewish station, operated throughout November on a temporary licence.

And despite amassing hundreds of fans organisers are embroiled in a battle to secure a permanent slot over the airwaves.

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom says it will not be able to grant a licence to the station this year and Shalom will have to reapply in 2008 despite having already having gone through a two-year struggle to get on the airwaves.

But Shalom FM has refused to stop making waves and has taken its battle to the politicians.

Organiser Richard Ford said: "Ofcom is currently doing licences in Scotland and working its way down the country so we are going to be last. We are trying to get them to speed up the process.

"It is frustrating it takes so long and we are trying every way possible to make it quicker.

"We are broadcasting on the internet and are not demoralised. We know it is a long hard battle and we just have to keep on with it."

MP Andrew Dismore put forward a motion in parliament last week calling for the licence to be granted.

He said: "The Jewish community is the only significant minority in London without a dedicated community radio station. Shalom FM has surpassed expectations and was enjoyed and appreciated by all sectors of the Jewish community.

"But I regret that Shalom FM continues to encounter problems with Ofcom in an application for a community licence for a permanent service

"I call upon the government to do all it can to speed up the process to ensure that the Jewish community has access to a radio station serving its needs as soon as possible."

The motion, also supported by Finchley and Golders Green MP Rudi Vis, is only one prong in the station's political attack.

Brian Coleman is currently taking the case to the Greater London Assembly and a letter campaign is being organised for the department for culture, media and sport.

Mr Coleman said: "The large Jewish community in London is the only significant minority without a dedicated radio station and the inaction by Ofcom is a disgrace.

"Its lack of urgency in granting a permanent licence is depriving the Jewish community of good quality radio programming relevant to their culture. I will be urging the mayor to join me in lobbying Ofcom until a licence is finally granted."

n British station seeks a permanent voice
(from Jewish Community Online)

By Vanessa Bulkacz

LONDON, Jan. 16 (JTA) -- A Jewish voice for Britain is waiting to have that voice certified by the government.

Shalom FM, the sole station in Britain that offers all-Jewish programming, is awaiting an answer to its second application for a full-time community broadcasting license. A previous bid was rejected.

One of the station's co-founders, Richard Ford, is optimistic that OFCOM, the body in charge of licensing for television and radio, will give the go-ahead this time.

``This time we had a member of Parliament lobbying for us, and we've been told our permanent license will go through," said Ford, the unpaid station director who has been working in radio broadcasting for nearly 40 years.

Parliament member Andrew Dismore noted to the body on Jan. 11 that the Jewish community ``is the only significant minority in London without a dedicated community radio station" and called upon the government to speed up the process that would allow Shalom FM to acquire a permanent license.

Ford believes the station was turned down because other community stations in London feature non-English programming, while Shalom FM's is in English. He also suspects it was because individuals and not the community were making the application.

In its four-year history, Shalom FM has received a restricted service license four times, allowing it to broadcast for 28 days but restricting the station to only a 10-watt range. The station, which has a Web site, www.shalomradio.co.uk, last aired in November, then reapplied for the permanent license.

As is common for community stations, the facilities are bare-bones. The only decor in the studio, a room off the main salon, is a tangle of wires and equipment with a table, chairs and microphones for guests. In the salon are some hastily assembled tables and chairs, a couple of computers, and volunteers busily working on the phones and at their desks. Editing equipment is in the corner.

When it's on the air, Shalom FM runs 24 hours. Original programming, which puts an emphasis on young people, goes from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. The remaining time is filled with a live link from an Israeli station.

Shalom FM goes off on Shabbat from 3 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

One 24-hour period in November featured klezmer music, current events, Jewish news, a Lubavitch reggae DJ, discussions led by community leaders from various streams of Judaism, Jewish lifestyle segments, speeches by Orthodox rabbis and teenagers hosting a drive-time chat show.

Shalom FM's radius covers a three-mile area in Britain's Jewish heartland, in the middle of the Golder's Green area of London.

Ford, 59, the co-founder with Mike Mendoza, became involved to provide the London Jewish community with a voice.

``There's no Jewish voice on the air in London," he asserted. ``Anti-Semitism springs from ignorance, so it's important to be heard. We need to say we're all Jews and we're all proud to be Jews."

The emphasis on youth is apparent in programming: Young people hosted the breakfast chat show and the evening drive-time program, both high-profile time slots.

``The older generation doesn't often give young people any credence, but they are the future," Ford told JTA.

London native Daniel Taylor, the 18-year-old host of the evening drive-time show, placed second for a British young DJ award two years ago when he first appeared on Shalom FM.

Now he is making community broadcasts during a year off between high school and college, where he plans to study business and communications. Taylor is enthused about his participation with the station.

``People get hooked on the Jewish style and format," he said.

As Taylor prepared to go on-air with his posse of teenage friends during the station's final week of broadcasts in November, Rabbi Raphy Garson of Federation Synagogue -- one of the main synagogue organizational bodies in Britain -- was speaking on-air about the virtues of patience and tolerance in light of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac.

Meanwhile, morning-show hosts Phil Dave and Kimberley Newie were editing material for tomorrow's broadcast. Dave said he expected to be at the station editing for much of the night even though, like the entire staff, he is a volunteer.

News presenter Roz Baron was researching, writing, editing and reading Jewish news five to 10 times a day, six days a week. She rose at 5 a.m. every day and skipped out on her responsibilities to the family business for the month of November while Shalom FM was on the air.

Why put in such extreme hours?

``My focus is to present accurate Jewish news with a perspective not used by the rest of the general media," Baron told JTA.

Ford says the volunteers ``just enjoy being in a Jewish environment," noting that there was something for everyone in the program every day.

``The Jewish community here in London doesn't have a united stand, and therefore Shalom FM doesn't have an agenda," he said. ``We're just all Jews and proud of it.''

Ford hopes that with any luck, Shalom FM's diverse mix of Jewish-themed broadcasting will be back on the air soon -- with a permanent license.
 

n Andrew Dismore's support of Shalom FM

Andrew Dismore introduced the following Early Day Motion in Parliament on 11th January 2006. He has also written to Shaun Woodward, the Minister at DCMS.

That this House notes that the Jewish community is the only significant minority in London without a dedicated community radio station; congratulates Shalom FM on completing its fourth one month restricted service licence in November 2006; notes that Shalom FM surpassed expectations and was enjoyed and appreciated by all sectors of the Jewish community; regrets that Shalom FM continues to encounter problems with OFCOM in an application for a community licence for a permanent service; notes that there will be no further applications considered for a community licence covering London and the South East until at least the end of 2007, meaning that no licence would be granted until well into 2008; and calls upon the Government to do all it can to speed up the process to ensure that the Jewish community has access to a radio station serving its needs as soon as possible.

We will keep you informed of any development. Meanwhile your letters of support are vital. Please address all correspondence to Shalom FM, PO Box, 617, Edgware, HA8 4FG.
 

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