The editor in chief of Israel’s largest newspaper, Yediot Achronot, was charged this week in a Tel Aviv court with wiretapping the paper’s main rival, Ma’ariv.
The indictment against Moshe Vardi was the latest development in the yearlong wiretapping investigation into the nation’s tabloids.
Ma’ariv Editor Ofer Nimrodi was charged in August with ordering wiretaps on senior executives and public figures at his newspaper and at Yediot.
The Justice Ministry confirmed that the charges had been filed Monday against Vardi and Ruti Ben Ari, a former assignment editor at Yediot.
The indictment reportedly said the two Yediot editors are accused of bugging Nimrodi’s cellular phone, ordering the wiretapping of a former Yediot editor who moved to Ma’ariv and conspiring to wiretap Ma’ariv’s graphic artist.
The tabloid scandal comes as it was announced this week that the newspaper Davar Rishon was being closed down after the labor federation Histadrut decided to cut off funding in the face of unsuccessful efforts to find a private investor.
Besides Yediot and Ma’ariv, the Israeli market will have only one other major Hebrew daily – Ha’aretz.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
