Five with Rafi Reshef
A daily Israeli current-affairs program that became a familiar part of the country’s television news landscape
Five with Rafi Reshef was a daily current-affairs television program that gave Israeli viewers a regular afternoon forum for news updates, reports and interviews. Founded and hosted by Rafi Reshef, the program continued the direct, interview-centered presentation style associated with his earlier current-affairs broadcasts.
A live afternoon current-affairs program
The program aired on weekdays, generally from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Its format combined live broadcasting with news reports, current-affairs coverage and interviews, alongside some prerecorded segments. Reshef hosted the program from Sunday through Wednesday. On Thursdays, and sometimes on Wednesdays as well, the program was presented by Amalia Duek and, at times, by Ofer Haddad.
Its daily schedule made the program a familiar part of television viewing in Israel. At the end of many broadcasts, Reshef invited viewers to visit the program’s Facebook page, opened in 2011, respond to the items that had been broadcast and submit stories that might become subjects for future coverage. This created an additional channel of communication between the program’s newsroom and its audience.
From Channel 10 to Keshet 12
In 2005, Rafi Reshef joined Channel 10 and founded Five with Rafi Reshef. The program was produced by Nina Productions, one of whose owners was Reshef. Its approach developed from the style he had established in earlier current-affairs programs, including Erev Hadash on Israeli Educational Television and Five with on Channel 2.
At first, the program was broadcast at 4:59 p.m.; it was later moved to 4:50 p.m. for ratings considerations. In 2012, against the background of Channel 10’s financial crisis, the program’s budget was cut by more than two million shekels. During the same period, editor and producer Nechushtan Okon left the program after working with Reshef from its launch. Despite the cuts and personnel changes, the program recorded ratings of approximately 7% to 8% for the 5 p.m. time slot.
On July 16, 2017, Channel 10 launched 16:30, which aired before Five. As a result, Five with Rafi Reshef no longer began with a short news bulletin, since the earlier current-affairs slot already provided the initial news update. The final broadcast on Channel 10 took place on January 14, 2019.
On January 16, 2019, the program moved to Keshet 12 and became part of the broadcasts of Israel’s News Company. The move brought Reshef back to the company’s broadcasting framework after he had left it toward the end of the 1990s. The program remained associated with the afternoon current-affairs schedule and with ongoing coverage of the news and public issues shaping Israeli life.
Why this legacy belongs in Moreshet
Five with Rafi Reshef merits preservation because it represents an important chapter in the development of Israeli television current affairs: a consistent, accessible daily program that connected news, reports, interviews and direct audience participation. Over the years, it reflected changes in Israel’s television system, including the transition from Channel 10 to Keshet 12 and the ways in which current-affairs programs adapted to a changing media environment.
Its inclusion in Moreshet and on Moreshet.com matters because the program is more than a title in a broadcast schedule. It is part of the everyday media experience of Israeli viewers and of the record of the public events and issues that shaped Israeli society during its years on the air.
