Bye-bye Ynet

Ynet, the spunky English language website of the Hebrew daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, will abruptly close down this week, after a two year run. It will be missed. They were quick off the mark to break stories and pulled few punches. Proprietors say that the website was not earning its keep, and most of its 11 journalists, who post news around the clock, are expected to be sacked rather than redeployed. It was known for its poisonous talkbacks, with dozens and sometimes hundreds of opinionated readers flaming one another over political or religious posturing. If you could wade through them, you'd get a cross section of the passion and delusion with which English-speakers around the world view this troubled region. Read it while you still can.