Raphael (Ralph) Benmergui (born 1955) is a Canadian television and radio personality and political advisor.

He recently hosted the show Ralph Benmergui: My Israel on Vision TV, taking a critical and bipartisan look at the issues and landscape of Israel. He is also the host of Benmergui in the Morning on JAZZ.FM91. Benmergui has a long and varied broadcasting background. Over the last two decades, Canadians have come to know him as a television host and journalist who has appeared on both CBC Radio and CBC Television.

Born in Tangier, Morocco, but raised in Toronto, Benmergui is the product of several cultures: part Moroccan, part Canadian, and all Jewish. While studying journalism at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, he was news director and program producer at the university's radio station. The CBC offered Benmergui a research job in Winnipeg. From there, he went on to produce current affairs documentaries and was named host of Nightlines, a late-night music show on CBC Stereo.

Back in Toronto, Benmergui hosted Prime Time, a nightly one-hour entertainment program on CBC Radio. He later moved on to co-host CBC Television's Midday with Valerie Pringle, where his skills as an interviewer and host quickly marked him as one of Canada's top television personalities. He also later hosted the variety show Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui and the talk show Benmergui Live.

Though a recognized radio entertainer, his television series have generally received poor ratings and critical reviews; Canadian media pundits chastised the CBC for its repeated attempts to create news or information television shows with him as host.

He has won a prestigious Japan Prize for Best International Youth Programming, a Yorkton Film Festival prize for Best Youth Programming, and has been the recipient of five Gemini nominations.

Benmergui produced Stuart McLean’s Christmas Special for CBC television and for Vision TV, he produced five episodes of a series called Seekers, chronicling the experience of five people on journey to find their spirituality. He has also hosted three specials, entitled Seriously Funny in Canada and Punchlines in the Sand in the US, where three comics comment on and explore serious issues of the day through comedy.

In 2009, Benmergui joined the Green Party of Canada as Strategic Communications Advisor.^[1]

He has also produced shows, such as the children's quiz show SmartAsk

[edit] References

• "My Israel Show Website entry". http://myisraelshow.com. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
• "Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry". http://www.utpress.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/cw2w3.cgi?p=beland&t=98797&d=1058. Retrieved 2006-03-15. 
• Dorothy Lichtblau (1998). "Benmergui a man of many talents". The Canadian Jewish News. http://www.cjnews.com/pastIssues/98/july30-98/tab/tab.htm. Retrieved 2006-03-15. 

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