Radio Tunis's The Hebrew Hour (1939–56): A Microhistory

Abstract:Radio Tunis's The Hebrew Hour (1939–56) was the first and longest running Jewish radio program in North Africa. From its debut just before World War II and through its final broadcasts just after Tunisian independence, its announcer Félix Allouche, a Zionist activist and journalist, brought together a diverse range of personalities, subject matter, political preferences, and musical repertoires in a single, multi-lingual forum. In this article, I demonstrate that, unlike the printed press, the radio allowed for such convergence due to its aural quality. In doing so, I reconsider the seemingly divergent ideological trajectories of Tunisian Jewry between the interwar and postwar periods while also treating the consequences of the program's drift toward Zionism after 1948. Finally, by conceiving of early- to mid-twentieth century Jewish radio in global terms and Arab radio beyond the framework of resistance, I suggest that new models are needed for both.