Politics? I'm not sure, but there's no great credibility there either.
An act that happened like this was:
Makor Rishon is certain that political pressures are delaying the fateful decision for their future. Their claim is that it is taking so long for Antitrust Commissioner David Gilo to decide whether to approve the sale of the newspaper to Sheldon Adelson because Naftali Bennett is involved and his chief of staff, Shalom Shlomo, is involved in the story.
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For those who don't know the background - Naftali Bennett enjoys a very friendly attitude at "Makor Rishon". This is a result of his positions, probably, his personal charm, but perhaps also his courageous connection to the owner, Shlomo Ben Zvi. Ben Zvi is no more. There was bargaining in the court and even more outside the court's walls.
Bennett really wanted the Yedioth empire, to which he is close, to buy the newspaper, before it fell into the enemy camp. The enemy, Netanyahu, wanted exactly the same thing, but in reverse. Netanyahu won. Sheldon Adelson submitted the highest bid, 14 million shekels, and the court-appointed trustee, accountant Chen Berdichiv, chose him subject to the approval of the antitrust commissioner. After all, Sheldon has another newspaper, which happens to be the most widely distributed in Israel (even if it's hard to call it a newspaper).
The commissioner delays and delays, and "Makor Rishon" is certain that the minister in whose jurisdiction the Antitrust Authority is located, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, is simply pressuring him not to give Sheldon the newspaper.
On Friday, I said a few words about the matter on Channel 10's "Friday" program. I spoke about the absurdity of the idea of approving the deal subject to restrictions that were supposed to prevent Adelson from influencing the content of "Makor Rishon" (the commissioner later denied that there was such an intention). Someone who knows the newspaper and wants to visit them called me and said to me, among other things, "This is not right. They stood by you when the channel was in danger of closing.".
In my defense, I argued to him that there is no politics. There is no politics, is he surprised? Of course there is. Ask the commander if he hasn't spoken to Bennett or Shalom Shlomo, his chief of staff, in the past week.
You have to understand the context – Bennett has no real ability to harm his superior on a daily basis. Gilo's powers are statutory and the minister is not allowed to influence his decisions. On the other hand, this is a unit that is administratively subordinate to the Ministry of Economy, so it could ostensibly have some influence on budgets, etc.
On Sunday, I asked the authority's spokesman whether the supervisor had spoken to Bennett or Shlomo. He said he knew he hadn't, because he was asked about it every day and asked her age. Still, I asked him to give me a qualified answer. He texted, "There is no pressure, not even in the last few days." I smelled evasion. I wrote to him, "I'm refocusing my question - did Shalom Shlomo or Naftali Bennett speak to the supervisor in the last week or two?".
The authority spokesman said "he did not speak.".
Again, the facts killed a good story, I thought, but what a devil, yesterday Bennett, stressed by the campaign against him, was interviewed on "Gale Israel" radio. He Told on his own initiative He did speak with the supervisor. He claims that he did not pressure Gilo, God forbid, not to approve the deal, but rather the opposite – he urged him to make a decision as quickly as possible.
I called the spokesman. "How does your answer to me live in harmony with what Bennett said?".
The spokesman said he asked her age and was told that the conversation had taken place several weeks ago and I asked about the last two weeks. Walla…
Let's put it this way - I follow the Antitrust Authority from a distance. When I encounter this commissioner's decisions, I am not enthusiastic. His opinion on the issue of TALI and creators' royalties, to those who have followed, seemed to me like a blatant lack of understanding of this market. His war on monopolies seems weak and anemic to me, and the authority's investigations have not shaken the economy for a long time (in his defense, it should be said that the weakness of the investigations department is a result of the weak tenure of his predecessor, Ronit Ken), but he may be doing other amazing things that I am not familiar with. His delay in this decision casts a shadow on his decision-making ability, and he is not going to receive an award for credibility either.
I read the statements from newspaper heads about how the mainstream media isn't paying attention to the risk of their closure because it's a right-wing newspaper, etc. I completely understand how unpleasant it is to be in this situation and how the whole world suddenly seems irrelevant and vile to you.
I have been with Channel 10 in this situation more than once, and the truth is, we are still there. In the story of "Makor Rishon," I really hope that the relatively little attention is not a result of the newspaper's political tone, but of the feeling that there is no real danger to its existence, precisely because it has real economic logic and a committed readership, and it is really, really important that it continue to appear.
