Israel: American weatherman's Hebrew accent speaks to immigrants
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
PETAH TIKVAH, ISRAEL 鈥� Skies were clear on the September morning when one of Israel鈥檚 most popular meteorologists, Robert Olinsky, delivered his final forecast on national radio before retiring from his 39-year career on the air.
What was even clearer: Mr. Olinsky鈥檚 round American 鈥淩鈥檚鈥� piercing his speech. It鈥檚 the way this former US Air Force weather forecaster has spoken Hebrew since he moved from Trenton, N.J., to Israel in 1970.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 stand my accent,鈥� says Olinsky, with a shrug and wide grin, as he sits in his home near Israel鈥檚 meteorological headquarters.
But his signature speech pattern set him apart from other radio personalities, and Israelis got a kick out of listening to him. It wasn鈥檛 just his funny Hebrew that made his forecasts memorable, but also his folksy style.
鈥淚n Israel, weather is almost the same one day after another,鈥� said Avi Etgar, an anchor on Israel Radio. 鈥淗e managed to make a weather forecast into something you wanted to listen to.鈥�
Olinsky was an anomaly on Israeli airwaves. When the country was established in 1948, Israel Radio required anchors to speak with impeccable accents and diction, to help immigrants learn Hebrew. It almost cost Olinsky his job: In the 鈥�70s, a radio representative wanted him and his Jersey inflections off the air.
But a government spokesman who oversaw the weather service defended Olinsky, arguing that his accent represented what Israel is: a nation of immigrants. Olinsky remained on the airwaves, and indeed, in the past 15 years, Israeli radio and television has become more inclusive, hiring reporters with Russian- and Arabic-inflected Hebrew.
鈥淭oday there is a trend to make the language of the broadcast closer to the language of the public,鈥� said Ruth Almagor-Ramon, language adviser for the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
But 40 years ago, the government spokesman had to assure radio staff that the American weatherman鈥檚 accent would improve. Nearly four decades later, Olinsky chuckles: 鈥淗is forecast was wrong.鈥�
