Several Columnists Leave the Jewish Chronicle in Protest

Above: Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge speaks with journalist Jonathan Freedland during the 'Jewish Labour Movement Conference' on September 2, 2018 in London, England. Image copyright: Dan Kitwood/Staff/ Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • Four columnists from the UK-based Jewish Chronicle (JC), Jonathan Freedland, Hadley Freeman, David Aaronovitch, and David Baddiel, are resigning from the paper over what they describe as the newspaper's biased reporting in favor of Israel.

  • In his resignation letter posted on X, Freedland said that while his "attachment to the JC runs very deep" and that he and his father have contributed to it for a combined "nearly 75 years," he alleged the paper has become "partisan" and "ideological" rather than "journalistic."


The Spin

Narrative A

The fabrications published by the Jewish Chronicle demonstrate the lengths some are willing to go to assist Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist government. Such influence operations are caustic to both Israeli and Jewish life. Indeed, the Jewish Chronicle has become increasingly sensational in recent years under editor Jake Wallis Simons, making this incident unfortunately unsurprising.

Narrative B

The Jewish Chronicle has taken full accountability for the errors that led to the publication of false information. Stronger mechanisms to prevent incidents like this one from occurring have been put in place, and hopefully, those who left will eventually return.


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