WORLD : Voice of America on Hold in Israel
Israeli environmentalists won a Supreme Court injunction today barring the U.S. Voice of America from building a radio transmitter complex in the Negev Desert until environmental questions are resolved.
The Israeli Nature Protection Society and residents of the Arava Valley appealed to the court to block the project, saying a 43-aerial complex would harm the environment and disorient millions of migratory birds.
A government planning board approved the billion-dollar project last month and the U.S. Embassy said it hoped the transmitter would be built immediately.
The transmitter would broadcast programs of the VOA and Radio Liberty, both funded by the U.S. government, in 28 languages to Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
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