Sheldon Adelson, not a word of Hebrew, dictating policy

Sheldon Adelson thought everyone worships $$$$ and him.

Sucking his fortune from those least able to pay, Sheldon Adelson destoys everything he touches.

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson accused of bringing 'ruin' to newspaper industry in Israel

 

 

Loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today) is bringing competitors to their knees. Iconic Ma'ariv close to bankruptcy and Yedioth Ahronoth had laid off dozens

By Matthew Kalman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Charles Dharapak/AP

Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson's free daily newspaper Yisrael Hayom has been accused of bringing ruin to Israel's newspaper industry.

JERUSALEM — Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who is one of the largest donors to Mitt Romney and the Republican party, has been accused of bringing “ruin” to Israel’s newspaper industry.

The American owner of the Sands Casino in Las Vegas has poured money into a free daily newspaper called Yisrael Hayom (Israel Today) that shows a slavish loyalty to Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu.

Aggressive marketing and popularity among Netanyahu supporters has rocketed the paper to the top of Israel’s newspaper industry, bringing competitors to their knees.

The iconic Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv is close to bankruptcy — and is likely to soon become an online-only publication except on weekends.

Another paper, Yedioth Ahronoth, which used to command about 60% of the Israeli market, recently laid off dozens of its staff.

Haaretz, the left-leaning intellectual broadsheet, announced 70 layoffs this month.

“Yisrael Hayom has finished Ma’ariv, and it is now finishing Ha’aretz,” a senior Yedioth Ahronoth executive told the Israeli financial daily Globes. “The fact that a billionaire has come here and pours money on to the streets, destroying newspapers like Ma’ariv and Ha’aretz is an issue that has not received sufficient discussion. Adelson has simply brought ruin to the Israeli newspaper market, and the Israeli politicians who benefit from its flattering coverage have allowed this unprecedented phenomenon to occur.”

Sensing the danger in 2009, politicians of all stripes — encouraged by Yedioth and Ma’ariv — united in a failed bid to disqualify foreigners from owning a controlling stake in an Israeli newspaper.

“I don’t know what his motives are, but he’s touching Israeli democracy’s holy of holies — he’s molding the face of Israeli society,” said Daniel Ben-Simon, a Labor Party legislator. “Personally, I feel badly that a man who made most of his money in casinos or by means of casinos, who doesn’t know a word of Hebrew and doesn’t live here, should hold such a key.”

The bill was also supported by Miri Regev, a leading member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, who said it was essential “to preserve pluralistic discourse in the media and in the public.”

Executives at Yisrael Hayom declined to comment.

A spokesman for Adelson did not respond to a request for comment.


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