At 70, the beloved journalist says a painful goodbye to listeners: "The disease is taking me"
Oren Nahari broadcast his final program on Kan Reshet Bet and said goodbye to listeners after decades of journalistic work. During the broadcast, he spoke about the progression of ALS and the difficulty of continuing his work, and received a special tribute from the President of the State, Isaac Herzog.
Journalist and presenter Oren Nahari, 70, broadcast his final program this morning on Kan Reshet Bet and said goodbye to his listeners after decades of journalistic work. Nahari, who is battling ALS, announced that due to the progression of the disease, he will no longer be able to continue radio broadcasting.
"I would have been very happy to continue being here, to broadcast to you every Saturday, but unfortunately the disease is progressing very quickly. My voice is fading, the breathing that was once taken for granted has become an effort, and speech, my tool of the trade for decades, is becoming more difficult by the day."
Nahari explained that the disease is gradually impairing his ability to continue engaging in the work that defined his career. "The disease is gradually and mercilessly taking from me the ability to do one of the things I love most – to tell you in my own voice what is happening in the world," he said.
During the final broadcast, Nahari also bid farewell to his program "Saturday with Oren Nahari" and the podcast "A Year in an Hour." According to him, although the separation from the radio was forced upon him, he does not see this as a farewell to the world. "I am not saying goodbye to the world for now, I am only saying goodbye to the studio and the microphone. The stories will continue to be written even without me," he told his listeners.
Nahari dedicated his final words on the air to a request from the public that listened to him over the years:
"Remember - the world is wide, complex, one must look at it with open eyes. This was my mission, and this is my last request of you. Continue to look, to listen, to ask questions, not to take things for granted and to continue to be interested."
During the program, a special surprise awaited Nahari: the President of the State, Isaac Herzog, sent him a message in which he thanked him for his decades of journalistic work. "For decades, you opened a window for us to the wide world. Thank you, Oren," said Herzog.
Nahari thus closed a chapter of decades of work in the media, during which he covered foreign news and hosted programs dealing with events and processes around the globe. Now, due to the progression of ALS and the increasing difficulty in speaking and breathing, he is saying goodbye to the microphone and the studio.
