Former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua says he and the former editor in chief of the news outlet, as well as other senior staff, developed a number of nicknames and codewords to discuss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the skewed coverage that the website gave to him.
Yeshua says Netanyahu was sometimes called “Kim Jong Un,” North Korea’s dictator, around the office, while Sara Netanyahu was called “Ri Sol-ju,” Kim’s wife.
In addition, the former editor of Walla, Yinon Magal, would tell Yeshua that he was “delivering a kebab” when a positive news story was due to be published, while a “kebab with paprika” was the code for a negative story.
Yeshua says his employers Shaul and Iris Elovitch also had their own nicknames for various political figures.
According to the former Walla CEO, they called former finance minister Moshe Kahlon, who was born to Libyan immigrants, as “the Arab,” “the smiler” and “smiley,” while Naftali Bennett was referred to as “the naughty religious boy.” The Elovitches referred to Netanyahu as “my friend from Jerusalem.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, April 5, 2021
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
