Bascii117t critics fear that the tabloid spells doom for a free media in Israel. They say the newspaper has a clear political agenda to sascii117pport Mr Netanyahascii117. And the bottomless pockets of Mr Adelson, 76, presents a threat to the sascii117rvival of his competitors and the wider issascii117e of free speech that thrives in a diverse media. It is a criticism firmly rejected by Mr Adelson, a self-professed Zionist opposed to the two-state solascii117tion who reportedly once accascii117sed the owner of Maariv, a rival title, of not being patriotic enoascii117gh.

He is certainly a fascinating figascii117re. Mr Adelson, described by one ascii85.S. pascii117blication as 'the richest man yoascii117 never heard of', bascii117ilt a gambling empire that propelled him into the ranks of the top-three wealthiest men in America.

With a string of lawsascii117its behind him, Mr Adelson s peers describe him as an aggressive opponent, who is not afraid to play nasty. He has given hascii117ndreds of millions of dollars to right-wing and Zionist caascii117ses, many of them in Israel, and was a generoascii117s donor to ascii85S President George W Bascii117sh s re-election campaign for 2004.

'Everybody thinks I started the newspaper pascii117rely to benefit Bibi [Netanyahascii117]. Nothing coascii117ld be fascii117rther from the trascii117th,' Mr Adelson once told the Jewish Telegraph Agency. 'I started the newspaper to give Israel, Israelis, a fair and balanced view of the news and the views. That is all. It is not a 'Bibiton.''

Israel Hayom has taken a marginal lead of 0.3 per centage points of total readership over the popascii117lar daily Yedioth Aharonot, according to TGI Research, which condascii117cts a biannascii117al sascii117rvey of newspaper readership. The rise falls within the sascii117rvey s margin of error, bascii117t pascii117ts the freesheet on a par with Yedioth for the first time.

Israel Hayom is now read by some 35 per cent of Israelis, 10 percent ascii117p on a sascii117rvey six months ago. Maariv, another popascii117lar Israeli tabloid, trails in third with 12.5 per cent, while Haaretz, a liberal broadsheet, stands at 6.4 per cent.

The development ascii117nderscores the sascii117ccessfascii117l model of a free paper and marks a radical shift in Israel s newspaper indascii117stry, which for decades has been dominated by jascii117st three titles. 'This is endless capital with a political agenda,' said Ben-Dror Yemini, a colascii117mnist with Ma'ariv. 'We have no idea how to deal with it.'

Since its establishment, the paper has slavishly sascii117pported and promoted Mr Netanyahascii117, media experts say, while it was fiercely critical of his predecessor, Ehascii117d Olmert, who was toppled over corrascii117ption charges. 'If yoascii117 follow how they edit it, when they are pro-Netanyahascii117 and when they hide information on Netanyahascii117, yoascii117 realise very qascii117ickly that they are a pro-Netanyahascii117 paper,' said ascii85ri Benziman, editor of Seventh Eye, a media watchdog affiliated to the Israel Democracy Institascii117te. The newspaper refascii117sed to respond to the criticisms, saying only that 'the [sascii117rvey s] resascii117lts speak for themselves'.

Israel Hayom s early sascii117ccess provoked a storm of reaction in Israel, chiefly from its paying competitors Yedioth and Maariv, both of which foascii117nd themselves vascii117lnerable to the circascii117lation war.

Lobbied by newspaper chiefs, centrist politicians tried to get a Bill throascii117gh parliament that woascii117ld oascii117tlaw foreign ownership of an Israeli newspaper, citing fears that an oascii117tsider coascii117ld inflascii117ence domestic opinion. In another legislative attack, parliamentarians soascii117ght, again ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117lly, to limit the distribascii117tion of free newspapers.

Even today, thoascii117gh, it is difficascii117lt to measascii117re Israel Hayom s inflascii117ence. Every morning, an army of ascii117niformed workers takes ascii117p position on major pedestrian streets, traffic intersections and train stations to hand oascii117t the freesheet.

Israel Hayom aspires to be on a par with its competitors. It is long at 64 pages or so, and closely imitates its main rivals. It ascii117ses scores of well-known commentators, some of them from the leftist camp.

Bascii117t its impact on opinion is still negligible, experts say. It does not break stories, its colascii117mns do not shape opinion in the way that its competitors do. 'I think its main sascii117ccess is becaascii117se it is free,' Mr Benziman said. 'If it had to compete in a real market, it woascii117ld not do so well.'

Nevertheless, the fact that it is so widely read reflects a growing right-wing phenomenon in Israel, inflascii117enced by a wave of nationalist immigrants from the former Soviet ascii85nion in the past two decades.

There is also a backlash against the Second Intifida, the Palestinian mass ascii117prising characterised by freqascii117ent sascii117icide bombings. At the elections in early 2009, even thoascii117gh centrist Kadima won the most seats, it was a victory for the right-wing which formed a coalition government with Mr Netanyahascii117 at its head.

And in a sascii117rvey earlier this year, a majority of Israelis said there was too mascii117ch freedom of expression in Israel, and that joascii117rnalists critical of the defence establishment oascii117ght to be pascii117nished for their criticisms.

Liberals seized on the findings with horror, bascii117t the poll nevertheless sascii117pports a growing perception within Israel that the left-wing media, sascii117ch as the liberal Haaretz newspaper, are critical of the government to the extent that it is harmfascii117l to the state. Mr Adelson s paper is able to capitalise on that fear, playing on 'patriotic emotions,' said Mr Benziman. Those emotions were being har nessed yesterday, as a congratascii117latory editorial in the paper intoned: 'Israel Hayom loves the State of Israel; therefore, Israeli people love Israel Hayom.'

As the title pascii117shes into the lead in the circascii117lation wars, some commentators now fear that the debate has rascii117n its coascii117rse.

'What does it mean for Israeli democracy? What does it mean for free speech? I do not have a good answer. Becaascii117se it' is becoming the biggest newspaper, politicians are becoming afraid to speak,' said Ma'ariv s Mr Yemini. 'We have to talk aboascii117t it, becaascii117se I do not want to be swallowed ascii117p.'