In terms of shameless personal
corruption on a broad party political level, I doubt that anything can
match the extraordinary efforts by MKs from the majority of political
parties, who are promoting legislation calculated to damage or destroy
the nation’s most popular and widely circulated daily newspaper.
The campaign against Israel
Hayom is beneath contempt. It emanates from Noni Mozes, the publisher of
Yediot Achronot which, prior to the advent of Israel Hayom, totally
dominated the mass media.
Israel Hayom was established by
billionaire philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, a friend of Prime Minister
Netanyahu who is also probably today the greatest philanthropist to
Jewish and Israeli causes. The paper is politically center-right and its
editorial policies basically support the Netanyahu government. Yet it
prides itself on opening up its pages to opposing viewpoints –
ironically including op-eds from some of the MKs now seeking its
closure. In contrast, Yediot was notorious for excluding any dissenting
opinion whilst frenziedly promoting supporters, such as former
discredited Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
With a team of outstanding
journalists, Israel Hayom shattered the left wing monopoly of Yediot and
Ha’aretz and is now the most popular tabloid in the country. It has
succeeded in expanding newspaper readership in Israel at a time when it
was shrinking throughout the rest of the world. It also, in a very short
time, obtained the support of major advertisers demonstrating that, as
in other countries, free newspapers in Israel can also become successful
commercial enterprises.
The bizarre argument employed
by those promoting the legislation is that in order to ensure freedom of
expression and maintain competition, a newspaper must not be permitted
to be circulated on a free basis. This premise is so primitive that it
does not warrant a serious response. The suggestion that legislation
denying free circulation of a newspaper would strengthen freedom of
expression is a concept that George Orwell would have relished to
describe as a classical example of “doubletalk”.
It is also ironic that Labor MK
Eitan Cabel, himself a former minister overviewing the Israel
Broadcasting Authority, was at the forefront of demands that taxpayers’
money be invested in order to retain the bankrupt Channel 10 TV. Yet he
has no shame in now spearheading efforts to close down Israel’s popular
independent newspaper.
The proponents of this
legislation are motivated by two factors. They are frustrated with the
presence of a powerful newspaper which refuses to join the traditional
media bashing and personal vilification of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Secondly, many of the MKs who are engaging in this operation are
enjoying the rewards of being gleefully promoted by Yediot Achronot -
the sole beneficiaries of the demise of Israel Hayom.
Those promoting the legislation
are predominantly from the Labor Party and Bait Yehudi. For Labor, a
party which purports to be at the forefront of promoting civil
liberties, to be engaged in supporting a Bolshevik style infringement of
freedom of expression, is utterly hypocritical.
But Naftali Bennett of Bayit
Yehudi is even more loathsome. How a purported nationalist religious
leader can have the chutzpa to actively support legislation that would
close down the sole newspaper promoting the national camp is simply
despicable. It is difficult to comprehend why other members of his party
enable him to pursue his vendetta against the Prime Minister which, if
successful would have an immensely negative impact on their cause.
Bennett disgraces the national
religious cause when he unashamedly allows his personal prejudices to
betray his ideology and adopts an approach which would harm the national
camp. If he proceeds along this path, religious Zionists should make it
clear that they would not support the party so long as he remains
leader.
The fact that 80% of Israelis polled indicated their opposition and indignation to this proposal paints a clear picture.
Even though the legislation
will not pass, it remains a blot on the Israeli political system that
these hypocritical politicians felt sufficiently secure that they could
behave so arrogantly without a massive electoral backlash. Unless they
withdraw their wretched legislation we would be doing ourselves and the
nation a great service if we communicated our intentions of punishing
them at the next election.
The writer’s website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
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