Journalist Double Dips as Bibi Speechwriter

By JTA February 9, 2012

A columnist for casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s Israeli newspaper is also receiving a salary from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for speechwriting and other services, according to an Israeli television station.

Dror Eydar, a senior columnist for the Hebrew-language Israel Hayom newspaper, reportedly has a contract through Nov. 30 with the Prime Minister’s Office, Channel 10 reported Wednesday. The value of the contract, which began Dec. 1, is approximately $13,500.

Eydar’s columns often deal with the media’s hostility to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel Hayom, which also has a mirror English-language website, was established and is largely funded by Adelson, a billionaire supporter of Netanyahu and a major funder of the Birthright Isael progam. The popular daily tabloid newspaper, which is distributed for free, is the highest circulation daily in the country.

Haaretz reported Thursday that Eydar wrote speeches and lectures for Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon, whose ministry is considered a sub-unit of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Yossi Gurvitz, a blogger on the +972 website, reported on Feb. 6 that the office also employs for a symbolic one shekel a year Uri Elitzur, an editor of the right-wing newspaper Makor Rishon. Elitzur also worked as Netanyahu’s bureau chief during his first term as prime minister.

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