Bli Sodot

Bli Sodot (Hebrew: בְּלִי סוֹדוֹת lit. Without Secrets) is an educational television show broadcast on Israeli Educational Television from 1983 to 1986, and on reruns during the mid-1990s. The show was intended for lower-grade Elementary school-age children seeking help with their reading, and was incorporated as an integral part of the school curriculum. It was also accompanied by ten study booklets and five enrichment booklets, published by the Center for Educational Technology (CET). The first-of-its-kind educational television show in Israel intended to teach children to read, the show would visualise to the viewer the process of reading through songs and sketches led by some well-remembered characters such as Gashash Balash ("Probing Detective") and Itonish ("Newspaperman"). The show's hosts were Hanny Nahmias, Oshik Levi, Nathan Nathanson, and Hanan Goldblatt, who were often accompanied by several other actors, such as Shula Hen, Ofra Haza, Galia Isay, and Matti Sari. Claymation clips, introducing the characters "Alphy" and "Betty", (a play on the Hebrew letters aleph and bet) were also featured. The show received extremely high ratings among children, and is considered one of Israeli Educational Television's classics. Its popularity led to a follow-up series called BeSod HaYinyanim (Hebrew: בסוד הענינים) that aired from 1991 to 1992. First graders would watch Bli Sodot while second graders would watch the BeSod HaYinyanim follow-up. The show remains an integral part of Israeli culture, with 39% of elementary schools still using it in the classroom.