Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
Ilan Yeshua, the former CEO of the Walla news site, says initially he would receive directives from his employer, Shaul Elovitch, about the types of stories that he should place prominently on the website and which he should take down as part of an alleged arrangement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but eventually he got those orders from the premier’s office directly.
“There were two directives: Take down articles that were negative [about the Netanyahus] and put up articles that were positive,” Yeshua says.
“I would get it from Nir [Hefetz] and then get it a minute later from Shaul [Elovitch]. It became clear to me that I had to do what [Hefetz] asked me to,” he says, noting that he eventually stopped waiting for the order from Elovitch.
“I would know what to do,” Yeshua says.
Former Walla editor Ilan Yeshua enters a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, April 5, 2021. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Pool)
The former Walla CEO recalls that Hefetz, who is a state’s witness in the case, was referred to as the “Rottweiler.”
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.
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