[Hanna Zemer] was fully cognizant of the sort of operation she took over. [Davar] was a staid party broadsheet, where dissent wasn't tolerated. During the vicious internecine wars in what later became the Labor Party, supporters of Rafi - the party of Ben-Gurion followers who seceded from Labor in 1965 - were nearly purged from Davar.

It was hard to shake Davar's image of an old-fashioned Israeli version of Pravda. Moreover, by the Nineties, as the Histadrut began to crumble, it couldn't be counted upon to foot Davar's bills. Zemer desperately sought a buyer, but to no avail.

The party powers-that-be constantly meddled and considered Davar at their disposal. When, after his stinging electoral loss in 1977, Shimon Peres could find no spokesman, he demanded that one be assigned from Davar's ranks. Zemer looked for a staffer whose services she deemed dispensable, and that is how Yossi Beilin was ushered into politics.