H eadlines
‘Sounds of Jerusalem’ Shaped WKDU’s History
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
AS A DREXEL University
freshman in December 1977,
Mark Grossmann traveled to
Israel on a Hillel-sponsored
trip. He had just begun
working at WKDU, the univer-
sity’s student-run radio station.

On that trip, Grossmann
caught the ear bug of Israeli
pop music, buying three
Israeli records to take back
to Philadelphia, including
“Sipurei Pugi,” rock band
Kaveret’s debut album.

On Jan. 13, 1978, Grossmann
would spin that album on his
inaugural episode of “Sounds
of Jerusalem,” his WKDU
show about Israeli culture
that aired weekly through the
station for almost 15 years
until 1992, when Grossmann
left Philadelphia for Boston,
where he now lives.

On July 17, Grossmann and
his small production team
reprised the show for two hours
at WKDU’s 50th anniversary
event, celebrating the show’s
lasting impact, along with the
talent of several other WKDU
alumni. Thousands in the Drexel and
Philadelphia Jewish commu-
nity tuned into “Sounds of
Jerusalem” in its late ’80s heyday,
making it one of WKDU’s most
popular programs. The show
was syndicated to two U.S.

radio stations and, at one point,
broadcast in Israel.

But Grossmann’s show had
humble beginnings. The only
Jewish person at the station,
Grossmann was asked by his
program director to create a
show on Jewish culture.

As a freshman having to
climb the ranks to establish his
reputation, Grossmann played
30 minutes of Israeli music for
his first episode of “Sounds
of Jerusalem,” which was
embedded in another student’s
6-10 a.m. radio show.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM After 10 weeks of that
abbreviated format, the station
managers gave Grossmann
the OK for his own four-hour
time slot.

Grossmann immediately
took advantage. Using grant
money from the Hillels of
Greater Philadelphia, he
bought more music and devel-
oped a show.

He frequently had Steve
Feldman, now the executive
director of Zionists of America
Philadelphia, as a corre-
spondent, and created other
segments, such as “A Moment
of Hebrew,” “Torah Thoughts of
the Day” and “The Nutritioner
Rebbe,” an unnamed Jewish
Drexel student studying nutri-
tion (revealed at the 50th
anniversary show to be Dr.

Stephan Lansey, a physician
practicing in New York).

Grossmann developed a
See Sounds, Page 20
WKDU station staff in 1979: Mark Grossmann is below the exit sign;
Sherri Pennington is in front in a leather jacket. Courtesy of WKDU archives
In Memoriam
The Philadelphia Israel Bonds Council and Staff
Mourn the loss of our long time Campaign Vice Chair, Robert (Bob) Rovner,
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Harold F. Marcus, Executive Director Israel Bonds Pennsylvania Region
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