Could Yedioth Ahronoth be the driving force behind the anti-Israel Hayom bill? The MKs promoting the legislation proposal have adamantly denied any affiliation with Yedioth's publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes, but some of the material presented to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday, during its debate on the bill, refuted this assertion. According to a report in the financial daily The Marker, a professional review presented to the committee, authored by former Israel Antitrust Authority chief economist Dr. Shlomi Prizat, was in fact sponsored by Yedioth Ahronoth -- which has vested interest in seeing the bill pass. The anti-Israel Hayom bill aims to bar the free distribution of newspapers in Israel. The bill's language and definition of a mass-circulation free daily newspaper was tailored to target Israel Hayom specifically. The Marker noted that Prizat's report was circulated among committee members prior to being sent to the other professionals involved in the debate, so they too could review it ahead of Sunday's meeting. Hatnuah Chairwoman and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni -- one of Yedioth Ahronoth's darlings -- who heads the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, presented the bill as one meant to thwart Israel Hayom's "threat" to freedom of the press. Livni claimed "legal elements" support her claim, but one has to wonder if those elements include opposition research funded by Israel Hayom's primary business rival. This issue raises several questions, including whether or not Livni knew who commissioned Prizat's report, and under what pretences; whether she saw anything wrong with that; and whether the identity of the body who commission the report was disclosed to those who reviewed it, before they did so. Israel Hayom has, in the past, voiced its suspicions that Mozes was the driving force behind the bill, and while some ridiculed this claim, others deemed it justified. The Marker's report only substantiates Israel Hayom's claim further. Meanwhile, an Israel Hayom poll of Yisrael Beytenu and Yesh Atid voters has found that the majority among them would like to see their elected officials vote against the bill. The survey, conducted Monday among a random pool of 500 Jewish Hebrew speaking Israelis over the age of 18, found that 81 percent of Yisrael Beytenu's voters oppose the anti-Israel Hayom bill, and only 7 percent support it. Over at Yesh Atid, 70 percent of the party's supporters oppose the bill, while 26 percent support it. An Israel Hayom survey held last week found that 79 percent of Israeli Jews oppose the legislation proposal meant to effectively shut down Israel Hayom. The results were echoed in social media activity by Israel Hayom readers, as well as in phone calls and letters sent to Israel Hayom's offices. Tomer Avi-Aharon, 36, from Ra'anana said, "There's no reason to close Israel Hayom. It's a great newspaper and the fact that it's free is just a bonus. It's great that there's finally a quality newspaper that's available everywhere. This bill in unacceptable and I'll be the first person to sign a petition against it." Twenty-five-year-old Aviya Schlau labeled the bill "ridiculous" saying, "There's absolutely no reason for this [bill] to pass." Tuvia Raviv, 80, said, "I don't care about the newspaper owners' interests. I'm all for the free distribution of Israel Hayom. As far as I'm concerned, Yedioth and Haaretz should also be free. Instead of opposing Israel Hayom, they should join it." Ruth Adam, 27, said, "This is an absurd bill. I'm all for Israel Hayom increasing its circulation even further. It should have a morning edition and an evening edition. It's a worthy newspaper." The anti-Israel Hayom bill will be presented to the Knesset for its preliminary reading on Wednesday.
