YATED NEEMAN

YATED NEEMAN, Israeli daily newspaper published in Benei Berak. Established in 1985, Yated Neeman is the acronym of "Yoman Da'at Torah" ("Torah Opinion Journal"). It was founded as a rival newspaper by the Degel ha-Torah Party after Rabbi Eliezer Shach, the spiritual leader of Lithuanian ("Litvak") Jews, resigned from the Council of Torah Sages – the umbrella group of ḥaredi rabbis – after the Council declined to publish his views in the Agudat Israel party newspaper Hamodia in a dispute with the Gur Rebbe over sanctioning the erection of a hotel in Tiberias at the site of Jewish graves. Its founding editor was Moshe Grylick. In 1988 he was succeeded by Natan Grossman. Yated Neeman and Ha-Modi'a remained the only party newspapers in Israel, the former reflecting the views of Degel ha-Torah, as when it refused to take advertisements for housing in the ḥaredi town of Emanuel because it was beyond the "green line"; Shach argued that piku'aḥ nefesh (the saving of life) took precedence over the biblical injunction not to relinquish Jewish land in Ereẓ Israel. In addition to party journalism, it also acted as an educational instrument. The newspaper was controlled by a spiritual committee, whose censors examined the contents of each issue – editorial and advertising – prior to publication to ensure it did not offend ḥaredi sensibilities. Sex-related content and pictures of women were taboo in conformity with ḥaredi views on modesty (ẓeniyut). The names of women journalists on the newspaper were abbreviated. Much crime went uncovered. Entertainment and sports were also not covered. In aspiring to build the model Jewish society, the ḥaredi newspaper was also a channel to educate readers in the historical ḥaredi opposition to Zionism as premature vis-à-vis the coming of the Messiah, and to attack Israeli institutions like the Knesset and the Supreme Court for making decisions regarded as running counter to Torah values. It published eight pages daily, including national political news, news about the Lithuanian ḥaredi sector, and world news. On weekends it had two supplements: a magazine, and a kadosh section containing inspiring essays by rabbis on the weekly Bible reading, Jewish law, and Jewish history. On Thursdays there were family supplements geared to women and on Tuesdays a children's supplement. Shach's death in 2001 left a void. The dispute over whether Rabbi Elyashiv or Rabbi Steineman would become Shach's recognized successor was also played out in Yated Neeman. The editors became divided, with the daily edition, edited by Grossman, identifying with Rabbi Elyashiv and the Sabbath edition identifying with Rabbi Steineman. Nineteen percent of ḥaredim read Yated Neeman daily in 2005, and 21% read the Sabbath eve issue. A 1995 survey found that 64% of the newspaper's readers defined themselves as Lithuanian ḥaredim and 22% were undefined ḥaredim (only 7% replied that they were ḥasidim). The newspaper had to contend with a rival ḥaredi commercial press, which grew in the 1980s and 1990s. A weekly English-language newspaper broke away from the Hebrew paper and was published in the United States. In conformity with the ḥaredi rabbinic ban on the Internet, the newspaper had no website. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Mikolson, "Ḥaredi Newspapers in Israel" (Heb.), in: Kesher, 8 (1990); Y. Cohen, "Mass Media in the Jewish Tradition," in D. Stout and J. Buddenbaum, Religion & Popular Culture (2001); Israel Advertisers Association, Seker Ḥasifah le-Emẓa'ei Tikshoret: Ḥaredim (1995). (Yoel Cohen (2nd ed.)