Makor Rishon ( lit. "Firsthand Source") is a semi-major Israeli newspaper associated with Religious Zionism and the conservative right-wing. History Makor Rishon was founded as a weekly magazine in July 1997 in order to create an independent newspaper with a Jewish religious and nationalistic slant. The paper was the brainchild of its original owner, Rabbi Shmuel Tal. The Listenberg family, a National Religious family in the diamond business based in Belgium and Tel Aviv financed the founding of the newspaper. Journalist Meir Uziel was hired to recruit the staff. Uziel enlisted Michael Ruzulio to find writers. Ruzulio had served as a reporter for Yedioth Ahronoth as well as for the Second Authority for Television and Radio, and helped create the “Voice of the Red Sea” radio station. The newsroom was established in the “Pirsum Yisrael” offices located in Givat Shaul in Jerusalem and included religious and secular journalists and editors. The majority of the newspaper's editors in its early years were secular and included Meir Uziel, Michael Ruzulio, Yehuda Levi (journalist) and Ofer Shapira. Earnings from the paper were low and its financial situation worsened. The paper closed down at the end of October 1999, after which the owners filed for bankruptcy. Makor Rishon was reestablished after five weeks, in December 1999, under the auspices of a company named “The New Makor Rishon” – a move that enabled its purchaser, Dr. Michael Karash, to derive benefit from the newspaper's name without having to be burdened by past debts. Karash worked to broaden the subscriber base and to make the paper financially viable. Over the course of 2003, the paper was purchased by businessman Shlomo Ben-Tzvi. After the buyout, changes were made that included a significant increase in the number of pages and journalists as well as a move to a broadsheet newspaper format. Until mid-2007, Makor Rishon was published as a weekly. On April 25, 2007, the HaTzofe daily was incorporated into Makor Rishon, which started appearing with the logo “Makor Rishon-HaTzofe”. Shlomo Ben-Tzvi, who until then had been the newspaper's CEO, was appointed the editor-in-chief. Makor Rishon was then published as a daily for the next two years. In November 2008, the newspaper entered into financial difficulties. The employees requested the court liquidate the assets of the paper. The newspaper dealt with the crises by drastically cutting content, raising prices, firing workers, and closing down its website and article