The Jerusalem Post

Last updated

The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post 2012.jpg
Front page of The Jerusalem Post; September 1, 2020
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) The Jerusalem Post Group
Editor Zvika Klein
Founded1 December 1932;91 years ago (1932-12-01)
(as The Palestine Post)
Political alignment
Language English
Headquarters Jerusalem
CountryIsrael
Circulation 90,000
(Weekends: 120,000) (International: 50,000)[ citation needed ]
Sister newspapers Jerusalem Post Lite
Maariv
Walla!
ISSN 0792-822X
OCLC number 15700704
Website www.jpost.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Jerusalem Post is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. In 1950, it changed its name to The Jerusalem Post. In 2004, the paper was bought by Mirkaei Tikshoret, a diversified Israeli media firm controlled by investor Eli Azur (who in 2014 also acquired the newspaper Maariv ). [4] The Jerusalem Post is published in English. Previously, it also had a French edition.

Contents

Originally a left-wing newspaper, it underwent a noticeable shift to the political right in the late 1980s. [5] [6] From 2004 editor David Horovitz moved the paper to the center, and his successor in 2011, Steve Linde, pledged to provide balanced coverage of the news along with views from across the political spectrum. [7] [8] In April 2016, Linde stepped down as editor-in-chief and was replaced by Yaakov Katz, [9] a former military reporter for the paper who previously served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. [10]

In March 2023, Katz stepped down as editor-in-chief and was replaced by Avi Mayer. [11] Nine months later, Mayer was replaced by Zvika Klein. [12]

The paper professes to be in the Israeli political center, [13] yet is considered to be on the political right; [14] its editorial line is critical of political corruption, [15] and supportive of the separation of religion and state in Israel. [16] It is also a strong proponent of greater investment by the State of Israel in World Jewry and educational programs for the Jewish diaspora. [17]

History

1925–1950

The first attempt to establish an English-language newspaper in Jerusalem was The Jerusalem News , established in 1919 under the auspices of the Christian Science movement, but this had no relationship to The Jerusalem Post. [18] The direct journalistic ancestry of The Jerusalem Post can be traced to The Palestine Bulletin, which was founded in January 1925 by Jacob Landau of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. [19] It was owned by the Palestine Telegraphic Agency, which was in practice part of the JTA even though it was legally separate. [19]

On 1 November 1931, editorship of the Bulletin was taken over by Gershon Agronsky (later Agron), a Jewish journalist who had immigrated to Palestine from the United States. [20] In March 1932, a dispute arose between Landau and Agronsky, which Agronsky resolved to settle by establishing an independent newspaper. [19] Landau and Agronsky instead came to an agreement to transform the Bulletin into a new, jointly owned newspaper. [19] Accordingly, the Palestine Bulletin published its last issue on 30 November 1932 and The Palestine Post Incorporating The Palestine Bulletin appeared the following day, 1 December 1932. [19] On 25 April 1933, the masthead was reduced to just The Palestine Post although its founding year still appeared as 1925. [21] It appeared on 24 August 1934 [22] but not in the following issue, 26 August, [23] or later.

16 May 1948 edition of The Palestine Post 19480516 PalestinePost Israel is born.jpg
16 May 1948 edition of The Palestine Post

During its time as The Palestine Post, the publication supported the struggle for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and openly opposed British policy restricting Jewish immigration during the Mandate period. According to one commentator, "Zionist institutions considered the newspaper one of the most effective means of exerting influence on the British authorities." [24]

1948 bombing

On the evening of 1 February 1948, a stolen British police car loaded with half a ton of TNT pulled up in front of the Jerusalem office of the Palestine Post; the driver of a second car arrived a few minutes later, lit the fuse and drove off. [25] The building also contained other newspaper offices, the British press censor, the Jewish settlement police, and a Haganah post with a cache of weapons. Arab leader Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni claimed responsibility for the bombing, but historian Uri Milstein reported that the bomb had been prepared by the Nazi-trained Fawzi el-Kutub, known as "the engineer", with the involvement of two British army deserters, Cpl. Peter Mersden and Capt. Eddie Brown. [26] [27] Four people were killed in the bombing, including three Post employees. [28] According to the Palestine Post at the time, a newspaper typesetter and two people who lived in a nearby block of flats died. [29] Dozens of others were injured and the printing press was destroyed. The morning paper came out in a reduced format of two pages, printed at a small print shop nearby. [25]

Palestine Post offices after car bomb attack, 1 February 1948, Jerusalem Palestine Post Bombing.jpg
Palestine Post offices after car bomb attack, 1 February 1948, Jerusalem

1950–present

In 1950, two years after the State of Israel was declared, the paper was renamed The Jerusalem Post. [30]

The broadsheet newspaper is published from Sunday to Friday, with no edition appearing on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) and Jewish religious holidays. Regular opinion columnists write on subjects such as religion, foreign affairs and economics. As of 2016 the owner of the paper is Eli Azur, editor-in-chief is Yaakov Katz and the managing editor is David Brinn. [31]

In January 2008, the paper announced a new partnership with The Wall Street Journal, including joint marketing and exclusive publication in Israel of The Wall Street Journal Europe . [32]

The Jerusalem Post also publishes a monthly magazine, IVRIT, edited by Sarit Yalov. Its target audience is people learning the Hebrew language and it is described as "an easy-Hebrew" publication, meant for improving basic Hebrew reading skills. It uses the vowel notation system to make comprehension of the Hebrew abjad simpler. [33] The Jerusalem Report , now edited by Steve Linde, is a fortnightly print and online glossy newsmagazine.

In 2020, Reuters reported that TheJerusalem Post, along with Algemeiner, The Times of Israel and Arutz Sheva, had published op-eds written by non-existent people. [34] [35] In 2020, The Daily Beast identified a network of false personas used to sneak opinion pieces aligned with UAE government policy to media outlets such as The Jerusalem Post. [36] Twitter suspended some of the accounts of these fake persons on its own platform. [37]

In January 2022, The Jerusalem Post's website was hacked by pro-Iranian actors. The JPost.com website homepage was replaced with an image depicting a bullet shot from a red ring on a finger (likely in reference to the ring worn by the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani) and the caption "we are close to you where you do not think about it". The hack occurred on the second anniversary of the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani and is largely seen as a threat towards Israel. [38] [39]

The Jerusalem Post has been publishing an annual list of the world's "50 most influential Jews" since 2010. [40] The list is released on Rosh Hashanah. In 2023, The Jerusalem Post announced the launch of a "50 most influential Jews" congress, including an awards ceremony for the honorees. [41]

Ownership changes

Until 1989, the paper supported the Labor Party. In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc., owned by Conrad Black. A number of journalists resigned from the Post after Black's takeover and founded The Jerusalem Report , a weekly magazine eventually sold to the Post.

Under editor-in-chief David Makovsky, from 1999 to 2000, the paper took a centrist position on defense, but began to reject socialism. [2] In 2002, Hollinger hired the politically conservative Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal as editor-in-chief. David Horovitz took over as editor-in-chief on 1 October 2004. [42] On 16 November 2004, Hollinger sold the paper to Mirkaei Tikshoret Limited, a Tel Aviv-based publisher of Israeli newspapers. CanWest Global Communications, Canada's biggest media concern, had announced an agreement to take a 50 percent stake in The Jerusalem Post after Mirkaei bought the property, but the deal soured. The two sides went to arbitration, and CanWest lost. [43]

In 2011, Horovitz was succeeded by the paper's managing editor, Steve Linde, who professed to maintain political moderation and balance. [44] Yaakov Katz, the paper's former military analyst and a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, succeeded Linde in April 2016.

Websites

JPost.com

JPost.com was launched in December 1996. Its current version also contains an ePaper version of the daily newspaper, a range of magazines and other web versions of the Group's products.

The site is an entity separate from the daily newspaper. While sharing reporters, it is managed by different teams. Its staff is based in Tel Aviv, while the newspaper offices are located in Jerusalem. [45]

The site contains archives that go back to 1989, and the default search on the site sends users to archive listings, powered by ProQuest, where articles can be purchased. [46] Free blurbs of the article are available as well, and full articles are available when linked to directly from navigation within JPost.com or from a search engine.

JPost.com includes the "Premium Zone", a pay-wall protected area, containing additional Jerusalem Post articles and special features. The site, which was given a graphic facelift in September 2014, recently[ when? ] relaunched its mobile and tablet applications, as well as its special edition for mobile viewing.

Editors

Agron family

Gershon Agron founded the newspaper and served as its editor until he went into public service. One of his early reporters was his nephew Martin Agronsky, who later became a famous American political journalist. [49] Agronsky left the paper after only a year. [50] He felt he had been hired out of nepotism and didn't like this, wanting to earn his jobs. [51] [52]

Agron's son Dani Agron worked for the newspaper, serving as its business manager in the 1970s, [53] while his wife Ethel wrote for Hadassah Magazine . [54] Martin Agronsky's son Jonathan Agronsky became a journalist in the United States. [55]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisgat Ze'ev</span> Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem

Pisgat Ze'ev is an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and the largest residential neighborhood in Jerusalem with a population of over 50,000. Pisgat Ze'ev was established by Israel as one of the city's five Ring Neighborhoods on land effectively annexed after the 1967 Six-Day War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies</span> Postdoctoral research center focused on Judaism

The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania—commonly called the Katz Center—is a postdoctoral research center devoted to the study of Jewish history and civilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gershon Agron</span> Israeli politician (1893–1959)

Gershon Harry Agron was an Israeli newspaper editor, politician, and the mayor of West Jerusalem between 1955 and his death in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Jerusalem</span> Section of Jerusalem that came under Israeli control after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line, West Jerusalem was formally delineated as the counterpart to East Jerusalem, which was controlled by Jordan. Though Israel has controlled the entirety of Jerusalem since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, the boundaries of West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem remain internationally recognized as de jure due to their significance to the process of determining the status of Jerusalem, which has been among the primary points of contention in the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. With certain exceptions, undivided Jerusalem is not internationally recognized as the sovereign territory of either Israel or the State of Palestine. However, recognition of Israeli sovereignty over only West Jerusalem is more widely accepted as a plausible diplomatic position, as the United Nations regards East Jerusalem as part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

<i>The Jerusalem Report</i> Israeli news magazine

The Jerusalem Report is a fortnightly print and online news magazine that covers diplomatic, political, military, economic, religious and cultural issues in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Horovitz</span> Israeli journalist (born 1962)

David Horovitz is a British-born Israeli journalist, author and speaker. He is the founding editor of The Times of Israel, a current affairs website based in Jerusalem that launched in February 2012. Previously, he had been the editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post and The Jerusalem Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Hillel</span> Israeli diplomat (1923–2021)

Shlomo Hillel was an Iraqi-born Israeli diplomat and politician who served as Speaker of the Knesset, Minister of Police, Minister of Internal Affairs, and ambassador to several countries in Africa. As an agent of the Mossad LeAliyah Bet in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he arranged the mass airlift of Iraqi Jews to Israel known as Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaakov Katz (journalist)</span> American-born Israeli journalist and author

Yaakov Katz is an American-born Israeli journalist and author who served as the Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post.

<i>Algemeiner Journal</i> American newspaper

The Algemeiner Journal, known informally as The Algemeiner, is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. It is widely read by Hasidic Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Bar-Adon</span> American-born Israeli journalist

Dorothy Bar-Adon was an American-born Israeli journalist. Her early experience as a correspondent was gained on The Atlantic CityPress. From her immigration to Mandate Palestine in 1933 until her death she worked as a journalist for The Palestine Post, covering a wide range of international and domestic issues. She died at 43.

<i>The Times of Israel</i> Israel-based online newspaper

The Times of Israel is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman. Based in Jerusalem, it "documents developments in Israel, the Middle East and around the Jewish world." Along with its original English site, The Times of Israel publishes in Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Persian. In addition to publishing news reports and analysis, the website hosts a multi-author blog platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaakov Hagoel</span> Chairman of the World Zionist Organization

Yaakov Hagoel, is the Chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization. He was formerly acting chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery</span> Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel

The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives has been a traditional Hebrew/Jewish burial location since antiquity, and the main present-day cemetery portion is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf in the sixteenth century. The cemetery contains anywhere between 70,000 and 150,000 tombs, including the tombs of famous figures in early modern Jewish history. It is considered to be the largest and holiest historical Jewish cemetery on earth.

Agron refers to two surnames with the same spelling, one Jewish and one Hispanic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Linde</span>

Steve Linde is a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post (2011-2016), and since 2017 has served as editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Portnoy Brothers</span> British-Israeli folk rock duo

The Portnoy Brothers are a British–Israeli folk rock duo formed in 2014 by Manchester-born brothers Israel Portnoy and Mendy Portnoy. Their debut album, as The Portnoy Brothers, Learn to Love, was released independently on 23 September 2016. On 29 March 2019 they released "The Garden Sessions" EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avraham Avi-hai</span> Israeli civil servant and writer (1931–2023)

Avraham Avi-hai was an Israeli civil servant, journalist and author who was a member of the Jewish Agency for Israel and World Zionist Organization executives. He served on the staff of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, as secretary for public affairs to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, and as World Chairman of Keren Hayesod–United Israel Appeal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gershon Edelstein</span> Israeli Haredi rabbi (1923–2023)

Yerachmiel Gershon Edelstein was a Soviet-born Israeli rabbi who was rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh Yeshiva, president of the Vaad Hayeshivos, and the spiritual leader of the Degel HaTorah party in Israel. He was widely considered to be a Gadol Hador by the Litvish community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Fishman</span>

Jacob Fishman was a Polish-born Jewish American Yiddish newspaper editor and Zionist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agron House</span> Landmark in Jerusalem, Israel

Agron House is a landmark in downtown Jerusalem. Constructed in memory of Gershon Agron, it has housed various Israeli national institutions in pursuit of the arts. It is located at 37 Hillel Street.

References

  1. "The Jerusalem Post". Encyclopedia Britannica. 15 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "On the issue of defense, the paper moved editorially in the post-1990 years between a centrist position under David Makovsky (1999–2000) and David Horowitz (2004– ) as editors, and a right-wing position under David *Bar-Illan (1990–96) and Brett [sic] Stephens (2002–4). A neo-liberal capitalist outlook on economic and financial affairs replaced the socialist outlook of earlier years." "Jerusalem Post". Encyclopedia Judaica. 2007.
  3. "The Jerusalem Post (Israeli newspaper)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  4. 'Maariv' Newspaper to Be Sold to Businessman Eli Azur Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine News flash at israelnationalnews.com
  5. "The press in Israel" Archived 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 8 May 2006
  6. Dridi, Tarak (9 July 2020). "Reporting Strategies of Israeli Print Media: Jerusalem Post and Haaretz as a Case Study". SAGE Open. 10 (3). doi: 10.1177/2158244020936986 .
  7. "Editor's Notes: The time has come... – Opinion – Jerusalem Post". Jpost.com. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. "Horovitz steps down, Linde taking over as JPost editor". The Jerusalem Post. 12 June 2011.
  9. 1 2 "Yaakov Katz named new 'Post' editor-in-chief". The Jerusalem Post. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  10. Dolsten, Josefin (13 April 2016). "Jerusalem Post Names Ex-Naftali Bennett Aide as New Editor-in-Chief". The Forward. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  11. "Avi Mayer named new editor-in-chief of 'The Jerusalem Post'". 21 March 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Zvika Klein tapped as new chief editor of Jerusalem Post". Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  13. "Jerusalem – a City with Many Names". Friend of Zion Museum. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  14. "The Jerusalem Post". Britannica.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  15. Katz, Yaakov (23 July 2020). "Israel needs a government, not a circus – analysis". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  16. "Recant, Chief Rabbi". The Jerusalem Post. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  17. "Can the coronavirus help repair ties between Israel's Jews and Arabs?". The Jerusalem Post. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  18. Ellis 1984, p. 109; Taves 2006, pp. 61–62, 65.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Michael D. Birnhack (2012). Colonial Copyright: Intellectual Property in Mandate Palestine. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-163719-3.
  20. Palestine Bulletin, 31 October 1931.
  21. "⁨The Palestine Post⁩ | Page 8 | 25 April 1933 | Newspapers | The National Library of Israel". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  22. "The Palestine Post⁩ | Page 2 | 24 August 1934| Newspapers | The National Library of Israel" . Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  23. "⁨The Palestine Post⁩ | Page 8 | 26 August 1934 | Newspapers | The National Library of Israel". www.nli.org.il. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  24. Wilson, Cynthia: Attributed to Penslar D. Archived 15 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine at footnote, p. 34, Always Something New to Discover: Menahem Pressler and the Beaux Arts Trio, Paragon Publishing 2011, accessed at Google Books, 5 August 2014
  25. 1 2 "American Jewish Historical Society: American Newlyweds in Israel, 1948". Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  26. Uri Milstein, History of Israel's War of Independence, Vol III (English edition: University Press of America, 1997, ISBN   0-7618-0769-1), pages 105–107.
  27. Mel Bezalel (7 May 2009). "The truth is louder than TNT". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  28. "70 years on: The bombing of the 'Post' offices, and its legacy". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  29. The Palestine Post, 5 February 1948, p3.
  30. A backward glance, a forward step
  31. "The Jerusalem Post - About Us". Jpost.com.
  32. "JPost | French-language news from Israel, the Middle East & the Jewish World". Fr.jpost.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  33. "Ivrit". Jpost.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  34. "Deepfake used to attack activist couple shows new disinformation frontier". Reuters. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  35. Oster, Marcy (17 July 2020). "News outlets covering Israel found, again, to have run fake op-eds". Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  36. Rawnsley, Adam (6 July 2020). "Right-Wing Media Outlets Duped by a Middle East Propaganda Campaign". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  37. Vincent, James (7 July 2020). "An online propaganda campaign used AI-generated headshots to create fake journalists". The Verge. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  38. "Israel's Jerusalem Post website hacked on Soleimani assassination anniversary". Reuters. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  39. "JPost targeted by pro-Iranian hackers on day of Soleimani assassination". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  40. Linde, Steve (21 May 2010). "World's 50 most influential Jews". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  41. "'Post' announces 50 Most Influential Jews inaugural event". The Jerusalem Post. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  42. Anat Balint, Jlem Post change of editors Archived 8 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Haaretz, 5 Sep. 2004
  43. "CanWest loses battle for 50% of 'Jerusalem Post'". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  44. "Horovitz steps down, Linde taking over as JPost editor". The Jerusalem Post. 12 June 2011.
  45. "Yafo 206, Jerusalem, Israel to HaAhim MiSlavuta 13, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel". Google Maps. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  46. "Pqarchiver.com". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  47. "Horovitz steps down, Linde taking over as JPost editor". Jpost.com. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  48. "Avi Mayer named new editor-in-chief of 'The Jerusalem Post'". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  49. Carnes, Mark Christopher (2002). American National Biography: Supplement. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-522202-9.
  50. Husseini, Rafiq (30 April 2020). Exiled from Jerusalem: The Diaries of Hussein Fakhri al-Khalidi. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 205. ISBN   9781838605421.
  51. Broadcasting Publications (2 November 1981). "Putting it on the Line: Profile: Martin Agronsky: a broadcast journalist who's covered the world". Broadcasting. p. 103.
  52. Bliss, Edward Jr. (2010). Now the News: The Story of Broadcast Journalism. Columbia University Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN   9780231521932.
  53. "'It is always better to explain than to fight'". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  54. Reinharz, Shulamit; Raider, Mark A. (2005). American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise. UPNE. pp. 243–254. ISBN   978-1-58465-439-1.
  55. Agronsky, Jonathan (2015). "His Guardian Angel". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

Sources