Prominent Israeli journalist Oren Nahari died on Thursday at age 70, less than a year after announcing he had been diagnosed with ALS and days after his final radio broadcast.

Nahari worked for several decades as a foreign affairs reporter and news anchor on the now-defunct Israel Broadcasting Authority, also known as Channel 1, as well as its successor’s radio station Kan Reshet Bet.

In recent years, he had been hosting the popular “A Year in an Hour” podcast and radio program about 20th-century history.

Nahari also had a Saturday morning radio program, “Shabbat with Oren Nahari.” This past Saturday, he announced on air that it would be his last broadcast, saying, “The disease is progressing quickly. It’s harming my ability to breathe, swallow and speak.”

“I’m not saying goodbye to the world yet, only to the studio and the microphone. To this frequency that was with me for so many years. The stories will continue to be written without me.”

“The stories will continue to be written, even without me. Other articles and reporters will continue to bring them to you. But remember: the world is wide and complex. Look at it with open eyes. That was my mission. This is my last request to you: keep looking, keep listening, keep asking questions, don’t take things for granted and keep being interested,” he said.

Nahari was surprised by a message from President Isaac Herzog that was played during the broadcast

“You opened a window to the wider world........

© The Times of Israel