Operation ‘Desert Storm’ was announced throughout Israel on January 17th, 1991. My daughter’s Bat Mitzvah was to be celebrated on January 18th of the same year. Instead, my late friend Daliah Meroz had invited me to the IETV set in order to document the station’s efforts in supplying a 24/7 live broadcast stream, in recruitment to the cause. Or in Daliah’s own words: come quick and fetch your camera, you gotta see what’s going on here!

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Naturally, I grabbed my camera and hurried to the station. The roads were deserted. Everyone was holed up in their houses, windows sealed with sellotape. The media ran instructions as to the proper use of Atropine. Nachman Shai, spokesperson for the IDF, assured the public that the water was safe for drinking. There was a general atmosphere of public consolidation. We were all on the same boat - terrified at the prospect of biological warfare.

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When I arrived at the station everyone was busy, running around and rehearsing. Many A-list artists had come to do their part in reassuring the public.

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Screenwriters came to write segments at a moment’s notice. Kobi Meidan was recruited to host the Open Studio’s first broadcast. Later, Erez Tal would join him in what would be his first TV appearance as a host. Producers, editors, directors, researchers, cameramen, studio managers, VTR editors, set managers, prop and set designers, production assistants, costume and makeup artists, taxi drivers and more… All armed with creative joy.

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I began documenting everything and everyone around me. I went from room to room, studio to studio. I didn’t know anybody, but felt I was witnessing history in the making. With this in mind, I realized this was a media war. These people were at the frontlines. They had the power to either reassure them, or strike them with terror - needless to say, they did their best to keep the public calm.

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With this realization in mind, I approached GLZ (the army radio station). The late Batia Shoshani welcomed me with open arms. There was an atmosphere of unity there as well. GLZ and Reshet B merged, in order to provide the public a simpler channel surfing experience. Those were different times.

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One of the events I witnessed in GLZ was when the Chief Rabbi came to render the Gal HaShaket  (emergency state frequency) kosher, so that the religious population could leave the radio on during Shabbat, in case of an emergency.

Looking through the documentation of those times, I can’t help but compare them with the COVID-19 era. How much have we changed. I dedicate this documentation to the memory of the late Daliah Meroz.