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One of Israel’s most popular weathermen retired last month after delivering weather updates on Hebrew-language radio for 39 years. Israelis loved listening to Robert Olinsky (pictured) for his most distinguishing feature: his thick American accent. Daniel Estrin reports.
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JEB SHARP: For Israeli radio listeners, the daily weather forecasts just aren’t as entertaining as they used to be. That’s because one of Israel’s most popular weathermen retired last month. He delivered forecasts on Hebrew-language radio for 39 years. And, as Daniel Estrin reports from Petah Tikvah, Israelis listened as much for that funny American accent as for the weather.
DANIEL ESTRIN: Israelis always knew who it was when Robert Olinsky came on the air.
[Olinsky speaking Hebrew]
ROBERT OLINSKY: My accent in Hebrew is pretty strong, and it’s pretty hard to forget. I tried to, but I haven’t succeeded.
[Olinsky speaking Hebrew]
ESTRIN: When Olinsky was growing up in Trenton, New Jersey, he never expected that one day he’d deliver weather reports in a foreign language to millions of listeners.
OLINSKY: I have a terrible accent. My Hebrew is technically correct, if you can understand it. But that’s life, what can I tell ya?
ESTRIN: Olinsky didn’t plan on moving to Israel. In 1970, he completed his service as a meteorologist on a US Air Force base in England. And he decided to travel eastward on his way back home. But when he stopped in Israel, he landed a job, and he’s been here ever since. Olinsky began working at Israel’s Weather Central. And whenever radio announcers would need a weather report, they’d call and put him on the air, in Hebrew.
OLINSKY: When I picked up the phone, with my accent, it just left a– it stuck in people’s mind. It just became part of my– what I was known as, sort of thing.
[Hebrew radio dialog]
ESTRIN: You don’t hear much variety in Israeli radio voices. That’s because Israel’s national radio has strict criteria for Hebrew diction. Avi Etgar hosts a Saturday afternoon show on Israel Radio. He says the airwaves are used as a tool to teach immigrants Hebrew, and to set standards for proper speech.
AVI ETGAR: Our first prime minister in 1948, David Ben Gurion, decided that the radio must speak in the most proper Hebrew. Biblical accents, perfect Hebrew, and here comes this American guy, this Robert Olinsky, with his heavy American accent. It was so funny speaking to him. And we used to make– I used to make a joke with him about that.
ESTRIN: Actually, in the beginning, Olinsky’s American accent almost cost him his job. In the ’70s, an Israel Radio representative tried to get him booted off the air. But Olinsky held on…and soon discovered that his accent became an asset.
OLINSKY: Because at that time, anything American in this country was good. An American car was the best. You know, so an American accent, it might be hard to understand him, but at least he knows what he’s talking about. So it actually gave me a benefit at that time.
ESTRIN: Throughout the years, Olinsky became a trusted source for weather. When his wife would hang out the laundry to dry, the neighbors would follow suit. And many Israelis would often call the office and ask him for personalized forecasts, especially during wedding season.
OLINSKY: “We got a wedding tonight.” “Oh that’s a great–” How many weddings are there are in Israel in a night? And all of the sudden the bride calls up, and the groom, and then the parents, and then the grandmother, and then the grandfather, who also has a grandson traveling in Argentina today. And what’s the weather gonna be in Peru tomorrow, we have to show a lot of patience sometimes, a lot of patience.
ESTRIN: But Olinsky always kept his audience in mind. Unlike many other Israeli meteorologists, he stuck to practical advice. Avi Etgar from Israel Radio says listeners loved his sense of humor, and his fatherly warmth.
ETGAR: And you know, sometimes we say, “Oh what a dry summer. What about the rain?” and it starts to be an issue. And Robert was always promising, you know, even by that sense of optimism, of “there’s gonna be rain,” because our lives depend on that, you know.
[Olinsky speaking Hebrew]
ESTRIN: Olinsky, who’s 67 years old, delivered his final forecast on the air last month. With his signature flat “‘R” he warned beachgoers to watch out for strong currents. But before he signed off, there was a surprise for him.
[Israeli meterologist speaking Hebrew]
ESTRIN: An Israeli TV meteorologist came on the air to impersonate his classic accent.
[Radio conversation in Hebrew]
ESTRIN: Olinsky’s response, in Hebrew: “I didn’t understand a single word he said.”
ESTRIN: For The World, I’m Daniel Estrin, Petah Tikvah, Israel.
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