With the scuttling of the radioship Peace in 1993 and the death of founder and inspirator\n Abie Nathan in 2008, it seemed as if the curtain had fallen for The Voice of Peace.\n But an enthusiastic group of former crewmembers and DJ\u2019s recreated the VoP: \u2018the\n legendary offshore station is back\u2019 and even celebrates its 40th anniversary this\n year. International Report spoke to Andy Cox, crewmember of yesterday\u2019s and today\u2019s\n VoP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The story seems to resemble that of colleague offshore station Radio Caroline. After\n the broadcasts from a ship there was silence for more than a decade and then several\n attempts to revive the station sprung up. In the 1990\u2019s there was an online radiostation\n on the website www.voiceofpeace.com owned by former DJ Richard Doran Ticho. Nowadays\n this website is home to the VoP Network, which supports good causes, has a partnership\n with the new Voice of Peace and even supplies some radioprogrammes. Since 2006 original\n VoP programmes can also be heard on Radius 100FM (on the old FM frequency of the\n radioship Peace).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But The Voice of Peace as we know it now, was started by enthusiasts and former DJ\u2019s\n like Doug Wood, Yaniv Dayan en Tami Tzabari, who at the end of 2009 decided to revive\n the station. After a long period of testing via the Israeli website www.thevoiceofpeace.co.il,\n \u20181540 The Voice of Peace\u2019 commenced official programmes on 7 november 2009, with\n original programme names (like \u2018Twilight Time\u2019), DJ\u2019s and jingles (like the classic\n \u2018From somewhere in the Mediterranean, we are The Voice of Peace\u2019, also in Hebrew,\n Arabic and French, on the intro of Junior Campbell\u2019s Help Your Fellow Man – and of\n course Bill Mitchell\u2019s deepest voice in \u2018Peace is the word\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In memory of Abie Nathan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the station was originally set up we approached and received permission from\n Henry Eskalasi, the personal assistant to Abie Nathan and in later years, his patron,\u201d\n tells DJ Andy Cox via e-mail. \u201cHe and Nathan\u2019s family have given us their blessing\n to continue the station in the way it was intended to be: playing quality music to\n the public in a professional manner, with the philosophy of spreading the message\n of peace where possible and keeping the memory of Abie Nathan and his good work alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
April 2010 saw a breach between the Israeli and the English team over a difference\n in opinion as to how the station should sound. Andy Cox: \u201cEventually the two groups\n parted and \u2018The Voice of Peace\u2019 run from Israel, as now heard, was born.\u201d A British\n VoP continued as \u2018all time hits\u2019 station on www.theVoP.net with DJ\u2019s Doug Wood, Brian\n Matthews, Mark Stafford and Paul Douglas. Cox: \u201cWe wished them well at the time and\n still are in contact with many of the people involved in that group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe original setting up of the station was very much a bit of fun and a tribute\n to the original station,\u201d Andy Cox continues. \u201cThe old forum in the early days was\n full of entries about popping down to the engines, checking the generators, painting\n the boat etc. But after a while (and this is where the \u2018difference of opinion\u2019 came\n from) several of the team did not want the whole thing to be viewed by the radio\n world as a group of enthusiasts playing old retro music and reliving their past and\n memories: just a retro tribute station. They wanted the whole project to be as the\n original concept was: bringing quality new music and the best of the old skool music,\n professionally produced and played. And allowing a platform for new DJ\u2019s (both international\n and local) to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New audiences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the Israeli Voice of Peace was build from scratch and soon was reinforced with\n DJ\u2019s from its offshore period like Andy Cox, Richard Doran Ticho, Rob Charles and\n John Macdonald. Veteran Mark Hanna is responsible for programming the station. And\n it definitely is worth listening to. \u201cSince that early time the station has grown\n from just a couple of jocks who had been on the original VoP producing \u2018as live\u2019\n shows and the rest of the time an automated system with no DJ, to what it is now:\n a wide variety of DJ\u2019s supplying shows from across the globe 24\/7,\u201d says Cox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018From somewhere in the Mediterranean\u2019 is no longer the shiny blue sea offshore Tel\n Aviv, but Tel Aviv itself – and actually many other places in the world. Servers\n stream the VoP signal 24 hours a day, with on top of the hour the old newsjingle\n with seagulls and the six pips. What follows then is not any longer the relayed newsbulletin\n of Kol Yisrael, Israeli state radio in Hebrew, but a few headlines from \u2018Feature\n Story News\u2019 in Washington (during the daytime programming on weekdays). After the\n Give peace a chance jingle regular programmes commence, often \u2018voicetracked\u2019 but\n also now and then live. There is a lot of room for requests and an extensive request-section\n on the brand new website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe make-up of the station and it\u2019s music is important, as we need to cater to those\n who remember the original station, but also need to tap into the new audiences that\n just were never around (or were too young to remember it) \u2018back in the day\u2019\u201d, explains\n Andy Cox. \u201cWe think we have it about right but understand that in this modern age\n of multimedia we cannot please and cater for everyone all the time. And it is important\n that we don\u2019t fall into that trap. We have tried to allow new talent to be heard\n on the station, just like the original station did, which has been welcomed by the\n listeners. However, like others we are always looking out for new people to join\n our merry flock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldwide, Israeli roots<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The VoP is streaming worldwide with a slogan that sums it up neatly: Remembering\n our past as we stream to our future, with hits from today and yesterday. But of course\n there is still a clear Israeli \u2018touch\u2019 to the whole project. Andy Cox: \u201cWe have a\n show on 6 out of 7 days featuring an Israeli DJ, each of whom are new to the business.\u201d\n (between 15 and 17 hours, Eastern Mediterranean Time). \u201cAnd during the day we play\n an Israeli track every hour. We have not set out not to have any Arab DJ\u2019s present\n shows with us, it is that we have not had anyone wanting to… yet! But we would\n welcome them if they were professional enough.\u201d It would honor the original VoP even\n more, where programmes could be heard in English, Hebrew, Arabic and French. The\n last two are now only to be heard in jingles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe do not have a studio in one place to broadcast from that point. We have a mix\n of style of shows and a mix of playout methods. The DJ\u2019s that work with the station\n produce \u2018as live\u2019 shows for us and send them in by uploading them to our servers\n via FTP. The playout system is set to play the right show at the right time. We do,\n just like other pro stations, have some of our shows produced via automated links\n and where possible we encourage the DJ\u2019s to play out live. But that depends on their\n technical ability to link up to the network and their availability. Thankfully we\n have Yaniv Dayan, who is a fantastic IT bod. He works wonders with scripts, that\n make it look so easy to keep the station on air. Dayan really has kept the whole\n thing on track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peace is the word<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what about the cause of peace? The late Abie Nathan decided to stop broadcasting\n after the Oslo Peace Agreements finally promised peace in the Middle East. As we\n know now, very little came of that. \u201cIt\u2019s ironic that as the station has got better\n and better in its output, the situation in the Middle East has got worse,\u201d agrees\n Andy Cox, adding: \u201cmeaning that the whole need for a common denominator, music, is\n bigger than ever! We do not side with one group over another. We like to think of\n ourselves as being like Switzerland, willing to support those on any \u2018side\u2019 who are\n caught up in violence through no fault of theirs but for the fact of where they were\n born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly the spirit of Abie Nathan is still around. And he can even be heard: everyday\n as the sun sets, we hear Abie announcing the thirty second closedown of the VoP \u2018in\n memory of all the victims of violence, in this region and all over our planet\u2019. On\n nowadays VoP this is not followed by silence but the famous song I Wish You Peace\n by The Eagles is played rightaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is not as easy as it was in the past with the original VoP to spread the word\n of \u2018peace\u2019,\u201d admits Andy Cox, \u201cas we are on the internet and cannot broadcast via\n a popular medium like FM or be picked up without using the internet. If we were broadcasting\n via FM I am sure that we would be picking up listeners all the time. The format that\n we are using regarding program output is (as was the original) nothing the main stations\n in Israel are able to do. They put on lots of advertising to pay their bills – and\n their shareholders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are more \u2018VoP\u2019s\u2019 promoting peace, for example the American \u2018VoP network\u2019. Cox:\n \u201cIn 2012 we teamed up with the VoP Network which is based in America, via Richard\n Ticho. They have a lot of contacts and work with a lot of charities and good causes\n around the world and we felt that it was important that we support that team. It\u2019s\n a symbiont relationship. Currently we focus and specialise on the broadcasting side\n of things (like the original station) whilst the Network team offers support to groups\n that need help. Together we work well to increase the profile of each and thus help\n raise funds to help good causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Volunteers<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, where does the money come from to continue the whole operation? There are\n commercials played now and then, for example for an English teaching method for Kids\n and also for the famous Budweiser beer. But these are exceptions. \u201cApart from the\n odd commercial that we have produced and played for various companies, we are totally\n reliant on listener support and donations given by some of the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll DJ\u2019s and team members on the station give their time for free. There is no pay\n for anyone. Anything that the station has done is via the skills of the team members.\n Recently we have overhauled the station\u2019s website. We could not afford to pay several\n thousand Dollars for this, so we learnt what to do and with some imagination and\n we produced the new website, which presents our programme schedule, details of the\n people who work with us, our history and ways to help support us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cox is confidend about the station\u2019s future. \u201cWe would like to expand our listener\n base and raise our profile even more, but we can only do this with the support of\n others: people who have the same believes in promoting peace as we do, by broadcasting\n good music, and are willing to do this by giving their time voluntarily. Not just\n DJ\u2019s, but others who have skills in music and program management and with advertising\n and promotional skills. We have a good product now and a famous name to boot. We\n just need the break to get us back on everyone\u2019s lips and playing on everyone\u2019s radio!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VoP at 40<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2013 The Voice of Peace will celebrate its 40th birthday. What are the plans?\n \u201cCurrently the station is planning to produce several \u2018specials\u2019 to give a history\n of the station and how it came about. Several of the DJ\u2019s are heading over to Israel\n to be there on May 19th to celebrate the first broadcasts 40 years ago on that day.\n The VoP Network is also producing \u2018specials\u2019 to commemorate the event. And I would\n like to ask anyone who was connected with the station in the past to contact us,\n so we can include your memories as well!\u201d We can all look forward to that, and of\n course Freewave will cover VoP\u2019s birthday celebrations. Meanwhile:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peace is the word. And the Voice of Peace is the station, 24 hours a day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the scuttling of the radioship Peace in 1993 and the death of founder and inspirator Abie Nathan in 2008, it seemed as if the curtain had fallen for The Voice of Peace. But an enthusiastic group of former crewmembers and DJ\u2019s recreated the VoP: \u2018the legendary offshore station is back\u2019 and even celebrates its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-51","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevoiceofpeace.co.il\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}