The daily freebie Yisrael Hayom (“Israel Today”), which specializes in supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, apparently is not actually owned by casino magnate, billionaire Sheldon Adelson, but by his relative, Adelson’s attorney told the Israeli Supreme Court on Tuesday. This is the first time that this fact has been revealed. Adelson acted similarly regarding the ownership of the recently purchased Las Vegas Review Journal, when reporters for the LVRJ dug up who was the buyer and discovered they were the billionaire’s children.
In fact, in mid-December, the Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a story saying Patrick Dumont, Adelson’s son-in-law had arranged the $140 million purchase of the paper on Adelson’s behalf. Dumont, 41, a New Yorker, married Sivan Ochshorn, daughter of Adelson’s wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, from a prior marriage, in 2009.
“Sivan Ochshorn Dumont runs the Yisrael Hayom, which is owned by the casino mogul,” notes the Vegas paper, later citing a source close to the Adelsons who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the family, who said Dumont “handles all the investments for the family.”
Attorney Dori Klagsbald, representing Adelson in an appeal he submitted to the high court together with Yisrael Hayom editor Amos Regev, over a decision by the Jerusalem District Court to compel the Prime Minister’s office to provide Channel 10 News and reporter Raviv Druker with information they requested regarding details of the dates of phone conversations between Adelson, Regev, and Netanyahu, under the Freedom of Information Act.
During the Tuesday court hearing, Klagsbald argued the order to compel should be revoked because it is likely that “the factual foundation according to which it was assumed that Mr. Adelson is the owner of Yisrael Hayom is erroneous,” since Adelson is not technically the owner, his stepdaughter is.