The fact that Israel Hayom was the first paper to give Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud, and the Israeli right significant space, and a fair hearing, is a major reason why Netanyahu and the Likud have maintained their political power since 2009
That all changed in 2007 when Adelson, a Las Vegas based casino mogul, and major donor to Republican Party causes decided the time was ripe to invest some of his fortune to remake public opinion in Israel.
Adelson plowed millions of dollars into a brand new daily newspaper, Israel Hayom. To gain market share and undermine his competitors, Adelson offered his newspaper for free, hiring young Israelis to stand at clogged commuter intersections and hawk them to impatient drivers stuck in traffic and at red lights. For may Israelis, it was their first exposure to right-wing views, and since it was free, the price was both unbeatable and palatable.
Within a couple of years, Israel Hayom surpassed the left-wing Yediot Ahronoth as Israel’s leader in daily and weekend circulation. The fact that Israel Hayom was the first paper to give Binyamin Netanyahu, the Likud and the Israeli right significant space, and a fair hearing, is a major reason why Netanyahu and the Likud have maintained their political power since 2009, despite local and global efforts at delegitimizing them.
Adelson passed away today at an undisclosed location in the US at age 87. He was a man who understood what it meant to be an underdog and maligned for being a proud Jew.
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