Israeli channel targets Arabs with sex and satire

Channel 33 aims to target Arab viewers

DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)

Israel will re-launch its satellite channel '33', with a goal of attracting Arab viewers with uncensored Hollywood movies and taboo-breaking political satires about Arab leaders, press reports said on Sunday.

"An American film that people around the world watch for two hours doesn’t run for more than an hour in the Arab world because it is censored," Ameera Aroon, head of the Arab Media Department told Lebanese daily Al Safeer.

"There is an opportunity to attract an Arab audience to the 'new' old Israeli channel," she added.

The department -- which is part of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and which plays a vital role in planning for the channel -- presented a number of ideas, such as broadcasting uncensored Hollywood films that contain "the kiss and bare breast."

Another tactic is to air programs that poke fun at Arab leaders, but within certain sensitivity restrictions.

Aroon told the paper that any political spoofs involving Arab leaders will be done tactfully, but emphasized that Israel is a democratic state which allows freedom of speech.

The channel has already started broadcasting its programs in Arabic for a limited number of hours a day, according to Al Safeer.

The new programs target Arab audiences in Israel and in the Arab world.