The COGs and Netanyahu's "Mouthpiece" Israel Hayom

Israel Hayom is a right wing Israeli newspaper heavily funded by Las Vegas casino mogul, Sheldon Adelson. Currently it is the most popular newspaper in Israel not least because it happens to be given away for free.

Back on August 30, 2015 it was mentioned in a previous post that an article in Haaretz that described the newspaper Israel Hayom as serving as Netanyahu's mouthpiece.

We can assume that in the coming days we’ll see much more of Netanyahu and the blue pen in that photo. His spokesmen will tell us how busy he is making last-minute changes. His mouthpiece, the newspaper Israel Hayom, will probably trumpet this address for the umpteenth time as “the speech of his life.” (March 1, 2015.) 

Here's more evidence that Israel Hayom is widely perceived to a partisan supporter for Netanyahu. This time it is from The Times of Israel.

To get the other side of the story, one must only look at Netanyahu-friendly Israel Hayom. Its front page quotes a source in Netanyahu’s office: “It’s essential that the prime minister speaks to prevent a bad deal” on Iranian nukes. The source says that Israel’s security concerns trump the elections. “The speech is to Congress is a speech about diplomacy and security only,” the source said.  (The Times of Israel, January 25, 2015. )

Adelson, the largest donor to Republican causes in the US in 2012, is considered to be Netanyahu’s close ally and patron. He owns the Israel Hayom free daily newspaper, known for its support of Netanyahu. (The Times of Israel, February 6, 2015.)

In the Netanyahu-friendly Israel Hayom daily, Obama’s much longed-after phone call is mentioned in passing, and the paper notes that officials in Washington have indicated that the White House is considering a “reevaluation” of its relations with Israel, due to Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state ahead of the general elections. (The Times of Israel, March 20, 2015.)

During her interrogation, Sara denied all charges, Israel Hayom, the Bibi-loving tabloid, reports, employing its beloved technique of putting headlines in quotation marks, despite no one actually saying them in the article. (The Times of Israel, January 1, 2016.)

Israel Hayom, oft considered a blindly pro-Bibi publication, buries Netanyahu’s victory deep in the paper, leaving front page room for a local story about an Israeli grocery chain, Mega, that stands to close and put some 3,500 people out of work. (The Times of Israel, January 14, 2016.)

The COGs at present seem rather uninterested with Israel Hayom. But they never appear to have bothered to mention to their readers the political leanings of this newspaper.

PCG has quoted Israel Hayom eight times in their articles. UCG, LCG and RCG have quoted from Israel Hayom once each so far.

Let's see what they say when they quote from Israel Hayom.

PCG Quoting Israel Hayom

So far PCG have quoted Israel Hayom eight times in their articles. This use of Israel Hayom by PCG's writers possibly reflects PCG's involvement with the archaeological digs in Jerusalem.

At Israel Hayom, another columnist wrote: “The difficulties that Morsi faces will emerge gradually. When he finds it hard to bridge the gap between Egypt’s political and economic interests and the disappointment of the masses, he may be forced to take populist measures. And in the Middle East this usually means inciting against Israel .… It is easy to envisage Morsi emulating the Islamic Republic [of Iran].”  (Stephen Flurry, Egypt is Lost, June 29, 2012.)

Even still, there’s a huge risk in accepting a last-minute, nuclear threshold strategy, as Gold points out. “If all that is left to complete an operational nuclear weapon is a few more weeks of work, then letting Iran reach a threshold capacity is very dangerous for obvious reasons: When nuclear breakout occurs, Iran can quickly build a substantial nuclear arsenal,” he wrote (Israel Hayom, August 31). (Stephen Flurry, After America, Where Will Israel Go for Help?, September 3, 2012.)

The bottom line, as Israel Hayom’s editor in chief Amir Mizroch wrote on December 9, is that things in the West Bank are changing—and fast! According to Mizroch, the Palestinians have seen what Gaza’s rulers have achieved by standing up to Israel and now they want change too. (Stephen Flurry, Hamas Sets Its Sights on the West Bank, December 23, 2012.)

An article titled “A Quiet Intifada in Jerusalem” claims it’s been taking place for a few months now. “It’s quiet,” the article says, “because the media isn’t telling you about it.”
“There have been thousands of incidents of attacks on Jews, with rocks thrown, fireworks show as weapons (the newest thing), and Molotov cocktails hurled at Jews where the east and west of the city meet, as well as dozens of cases of frustrated Jews attacking Arabs. Not to mention isolated cases of shootings spattered throughout the city reported on the back pages of newspapers,” Nadav Shragai wrote in Israel Hayom (September 3). (Daryle Hochstetler, A Third Intifada in Jerusalem—Happening Now?, November 10, 2014.)

The attackers were reportedly affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, according to Israel Hayom, although no terrorist group has claimed the attack. (Brent Nagtegaal, Four Jews Savagely Murdered in Jerusalem Synagogue Attack, November 18, 2014.)

“In moments like these, facing a terrorist, you act mainly by intuition and do what anyone would be expected to do—take out the terrorist,” wrote the mayor in Israel Hayom on Monday. Later, he wrote, “Anyone who tries to attack us will pay dearly. You can’t hesitate in the face of terrorism.” (Brent Nagtegaal, Mayor of Jerusalem Takes Down Terrorist, February 25, 2015.)

According to Israel Hayom, “Herzog, who now vows to protect Jerusalem’s ‘strength,’ made it clear after he was elected as Labor chairman (in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth) that he sees Jerusalem serving as two political capitals—the capital of the Jewish state on its west, and the capital of the Palestinian state on its east.”  (Brent Nagtegaal, Netanyahu Wins Israeli Election, March 17, 2015.)

Yedioth Ahronoth’s headline said, “Jerusalem: Soldiers to Guard Buses.” Israel Hayom said, “Army to enter cities.” Haaretz’s main headline said the Israeli “Cabinet Is Considering Cutting Off East Jerusalem.”
These are the early stages of the division of Jerusalem—the once united capital of Israel.
Another Israel Hayom article said, “As terrorism mounts, Israelis take security into their own hands.” It noted a sharp increase in Israeli civilians purchasing pepper sprays, stun guns and clubs to protect themselves. Jewish citizens are enrolling in classes where they can learn to fight like the Israeli military.  (Stephen Flurry, How the Jerusalem Awakening Is Prophesied to End, October 16, 2015.)

PCG has also cited articles from Israel Hayom in the February 28 and August 15 issues of The Trumpet Weekly as noted in a previous post: Notes from PCG's Trumpet Weekly (2015).

LCG Quoting Israel Hayom

In contrast to PCG the other COGs have only quoted Israel Hayom once in their writings. This is the case with LCG, UCG and RCG alike.

The Vatican has long desired to gain control of Jerusalem and is patiently working towards this end.  Now, “Israel has granted the pope an official seat in the room where the Last Supper is believed to have taken place, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem” (Israel Hayom, January 30, 2013). (Vatican invited to sit on Mount Zion!, February 18, 2013.)

UCG Quoting Israel Hayom

Speaking to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom , prominent Harvard legal expert Alan Dershowitz, not one known for conservative views, drew similar comparisons, saying that Barack Obama might go down as another Neville Chamberlain if Iran gets hold of a nuclear weapon. “It would be better to have no deal at all than a bad deal,” he said (Feb. 18, 2015). (Michael Kelley, Are We in a Dangerous Age of Appeasement?, May 1, 2015.)

RCG Quoting Israel Hayom

(Note: Due to reports that RCG's websites adds browser cookies to one's browser when visiting their website causing their advertising to appear while one is elsewhere on the Internet I do not link to this website.)

Another source revealed more about Mr. Netanyahu’s plan: “A day after world powers and Iran reached a comprehensive nuclear agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched an international media campaign against the deal, highlighting its flaws. ‘Iran has here two paths to the bomb,’ Netanyahu said in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday. ‘One is if they keep the deal, and the other is if they cheat on the deal. They can cheat on the deal because inspections are not instantaneous, anywhere, anytime, as Foreign Minister of Iran [Mohammad Javad] Zarif said correctly. In fact, you don’t have inspections within 24 hours; you have 24 days before you can inspect any site that you find suspicious in Iran. Twenty-four days. Can you imagine giving a drug dealer 24 days’ notice before you check the premises? That’s a lot of time to flush a lot of meth down the toilet.’ In an address to the Knesset on Wednesday…Netanyahu said he plans to apply pressure on the U.S. Congress to thwart the implementation of the deal” (Israel Hayom). (David C. Pack, World News Report: August 2015, August 13, 2015.)

So we see that at present the COGs do not seem to be too interested with Israel Hayom, except possibly PCG, but even in that case their use of Israel Hayom seems marginal. Israel Hayom's political leanings are never mentioned by the COGs to their readers.