Outlet profile

Israel Hayom

Israeli right / pro-Netanyahu, owned by a U.S. Republican megadonor

Owned byOwned by Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who founded the paper. She is a major U.S. Republican donor and a Las Vegas Sands and Dallas Mavericks shareholder.

FundingMainly advertising, backed by the Adelson family fortune. It was launched as a free daily, so it has long relied on owner subsidies and ad revenue rather than newsstand sales or subscriptions.

On the administrationmixed

Background

Sheldon Adelson launched Israel Hayom ("Israel Today") in 2007 as a free daily distributed at no cost. It grew quickly and became one of Israel's most widely circulated newspapers, which hurt paid papers such as Yedioth Ahronoth. Critics nicknamed it "Bibiton" (a play on Netanyahu's nickname "Bibi") because of its consistently favorable coverage of him. A 2014 bill to curb free dailies was widely seen as aimed at the paper, and it helped trigger early elections. Netanyahu was later investigated in "Case 2000" over alleged talks with Yedioth's publisher about favorable coverage in exchange for limiting Israel Hayom's circulation. Sheldon Adelson died in January 2021, and Miriam Adelson took over ownership. The paper publishes English and French editions, and its editorial line stays pro-Likud, hawkish on security and Iran, and strongly pro-settlement. Its news pages have generally been favorable to Trump, but in mid-2026 it published a column by Danny Zaken calling the Iran deal a "surrender agreement," a notable break with the president. That shows its loyalty is tied more to Israeli security priorities than to any U.S. administration.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-11-07; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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