Ynet

Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches including Haaretz, Maariv and Globes. According to Globes, the launch of Ynet may have been delayed due to concerns about Ynet cannibalizing the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. The website had 130 staff members at launch, and the original columnists included Ofer Shelah and Gadi Taub. Its content is separate from the newspaper. In addition, Ynet hosts the online version of Yedioth Aharanot's media group magazines: Lalsha (which also operates Ynet's fashion section), Pnai Plus, Blazer, GO Magazine, and Mentha. For two years, Ynet also had an Arabic edition, which ceased operation in May 2005. Ynet's main competition comes from Walla!, Mako and Nana. Since 2008, Ynet is Israel's most popular internet portal, as measured by Google Trends. In celebration of Israel's independence day in 2005, Ynet conducted a poll to determine whom Ynet readers consider to be the greatest Israelis of all time. The top 200 results were published, with Yitzhak Rabin placing first in the survey, and David Ben-Gurion placing second. In 2005, Ynet employed 80 reporters. == Ynetnews ==

Ynetnews is the English language website associated with Yedioth Ahronoth, and the Hebrew Ynet. Ynetnews was established in February 2005 in Tel Aviv, with a staff of nine people. According to Gadi Taub of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the launch of Ynetnews was a major event in English-language media in Israel. The founding editor of Ynetnews, Alan Abbey planned to focus on American Jews as an audience. Abbey left in the summer of 2005 to serve as Internet Director for Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. According to a 2018 study published by Oxford University Press, Ynet publishes articles and interviews at the instigation of the Israeli government, without declaring any connection with the government – these publications aim to stir up pro-Israeli sentiment. ==References==