Just in:
In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Experts come together to support updating the city’s nature conservation masterplan // The World’s First & Wettest Party: “S2O Hong Kong Songkran Music Festival” proudly returns Get an immersive water and music experience on 8-9 June during Dragon Boat Festival long weekend at Central Harbourfront Event Space! // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards //
HomeNewsboxBenjamin Netanyahu Sought Deal With Hostile Newspaper, TV Report Says

Benjamin Netanyahu Sought Deal With Hostile Newspaper, TV Report Says

NETANYAHU facebookJumbo

The meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and the publisher of Yediot Aharonot, Arnon Mozes, took place in 2014, according to Channel 2, but the discussion does not appear to have materialized into action.

Still, the disclosure caused an uproar. Critics accused Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Mozes of plotting to upend the democratic principle of an independent, free and professional press.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We expect in a democratic country that the journalistic coverage will come from the editorial echelon, from the reporters, the editors — people who are driven by the public good and the supply of information,” Prof. Rafi Mann, an expert in Israeli media history and communications at Ariel University in the West Bank, told Israel Radio.

It would be improper, he said, for Yediot Aharonot to change its coverage not for the sake of balance or accuracy, but “because the owner wants to save the paper or make things easier financially.”

Yediot Aharonot has struggled financially in recent years, largely because of competition from Israel Hayom, a free daily backed financially by one of Mr. Netanyahu’s main patrons, the American billionaire and Republican Party donor Sheldon Adelson. Since Israel Hayom began publishing in 2007, it has cut deeply into Yediot Aharonot’s advertising base and readership.

Mr. Netanyahu has a combative relationship with much of the Israeli news media.

In a Facebook post in 2015, Mr. Netanyahu accused Mr. Mozes of “an orchestrated and ridiculous campaign of slander” against him, his Likud Party and Israel Hayom. The attack came a day after lawyers filed a petition to ban Israel Hayom during that year’s election campaign, calling it a “propaganda platform” that is “masquerading as a newspaper.”

The election was called after Mr. Netanyahu broke up his government coalition, partly to prevent the advancement of a bill to outlaw free newspapers like Israel Hayom.

The meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Mozes in 2014 was recorded at Mr. Netanyahu’s request by his former chief of staff, Ari Harow, according to Channel 2. It surfaced during a separate police investigation of Mr. Harow on suspicion of financial irregularities.

Fraud investigators questioned Mr. Netanyahu twice last week, with the police saying that he was asked about two cases. One, a possible graft case, involves the receipt of gifts from business executives, apparently including regular deliveries of expensive cigars and pink champagne from a Hollywood producer and longtime friend, Arnon Milchan.

Mr. Netanyahu’s lawyer, Jacob Weinroth, said there was “no speck” of criminality in receiving cigars as a present from a friend.

The police provided no details about the second case, saying only that a second suspect had been questioned — presumably Mr. Mozes.

Mr. Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud Party ministers on Sunday that while he could not go into details, “I know what this is about and I am telling you in full confidence: This will come to nothing because there is nothing.” He has made a mantra of the phrase in recent weeks as he has denied any wrongdoing.

There was no immediate response to the reports on Sunday from Mr. Mozes.

Ron Yaron, the editor in chief of Yediot Aharonot, wrote in a letter to the newspaper’s staff that the editors and reporters had been unaware of the meeting between the publisher and the prime minister.

“Naturally, since we knew nothing about it, we also could not ‘act accordingly,’” Mr. Yaron wrote. “Everything published in Yediot Aharonot stands up to the rules of journalism and stems from professional considerations.”

Liron Vardi Geler, a spokeswoman for Israel Hayom, declined to comment.

Yediot Aharonot was once Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper, but industry figures for the first half of 2016 show that Israel Hayom now circulates more copies on weekdays than any Israeli paper.

Legal and political experts debated on Sunday whether the discussion between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Mozes constituted criminal behavior or just represented questionable conduct.

Dan Margalit, a veteran Israeli journalist and a columnist at Israel Hayom, told Channel 2: “Let the bosses fight it out. I’m glad I am not involved.”

Continue reading the main story

NYtimes

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened //