ISRAEL: This TV mystery is real

What is screwing up satellite television service in Israel?

For more than a month, subscribers to Israel’s Yes service have endured frequent disruptions — images that jump and freeze — that have created a public-relations nightmare for the company and something of an international mystery.

The problem began Sept. 6, the day Israel apparently carried out an air strike on an undisclosed target in Syria. Israeli media say officials suspect that the subsequent disturbances in the television signals from Yes, one of two multichannel providers in Israel, is interference from foreign ships.

One report suggested the possible involvement of a Russian spy ship. Other press accounts point to radar transmissions from Dutch vessels belonging to a United Nations force off the coast of Lebanon. The maritime force was deployed to help keep peace after Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon last year.

The balky TV signals have spurred as many as 400,000 complaints to Yes each day, forcing the company to hire more workers and offer compensation to many of its 530,000 subscribers. A top company executive says the firm might not be able to withstand another month of trouble.

Yes has chartered planes and ships to pinpoint the source of signal disruptions, and shareholders have appealed to top Israeli officials to help. The company’s website says the “disturbances are caused by external elements beyond our control and are apparently due to security events.”

Meanwhile, its chief rival, a cable firm called Hot, is planning a drive to recruit new viewers.

— Ken Ellingwood and Batsheva Sobelman in Jerusalem