The Jerusalem Post
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The May 16, 1948 Palestine Post headline announcing the creation of the state of Israel |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Mirkaei Tikshoret |
| Editor | David Horovitz |
| Founded | December 1, 1932 (as The Palestine Post) |
| Language | English & French editions |
| Headquarters | |
| Website | www.jpost.com |
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. While the daily readership numbers (tens of thousands) do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers, the Jerusalem Post has a much broader reach than these other newspapers in that its readership is composed of Israeli politicians, foreign journalists, and tourists, and it is also distributed worldwide.[1] Whilst it was once regarded as left-wing, the paper underwent a noticeable shift to the right in the late 1980s.[2] Under the new ownership and editorial leadership of editor-in-chief David Horovitz since 2004, the paper's political identity has moved again to a more complex centrist position. Examples of this shift include support for the August 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the paper's advocacy for privatization of Israeli religious institutions.[3]
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[edit] History
The Palestine Post was founded on December 1, 1932 by American journalist-turned-newspaper-editor, Gershon Agron in the British Mandate of Palestine. 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 the Historical Jewish Press, the Palestine Post was established "as part of a Zionist-Jewish initiative", and "Zionist institutions considered the newspaper one of the most effective means of exerting influence on the British authorities".[4]
On the evening of February 1, 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. [5] The building also contained other newspaper offices, the British press censor, the Jewish settlement police, and a Hagana post with a cache of weapons. Arab leader Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Hagana leaders suspected other parties, including Etzel, British forces, and "German saboteurs".[6] The bomb was intended to kill Post editor Gershon Agron, who was out of the building at the time. The blast killed three persons, injured dozens of others and destroyed the printing press. The morning paper came out in a reduced format of two pages, printed up at a small print shop nearby.[5] In 1950, two years after the State of Israel was declared, the paper was renamed The Jerusalem Post.
[edit] Ownership changes
Until 1989 the paper supported the forerunners of the Labour Party. In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. A number of journalists resigned from the Post after Conrad Black's takeover and founded the Jerusalem Report, a weekly magazine eventually sold to the Post. The leader of the walkout was David Landau, who founded Haaretz English Edition and went on to become editor-in-chief of Haaretz.
On November 16, 2004, Hollinger sold the paper to Mirkaei Tikshoret Ltd., 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 Mirkaei pulled out of the deal. CanWest sued in court, but lost.[7]
[edit] Political orientation
Currently the newspaper is viewed as having a moderate conservative[citation needed] slant on news coverage, although left-wing columns, notably by Larry Derfner, are often featured on the editorial pages. It espouses economic positions close to those of neoliberalism: tight fiscal control on public spending, curbing of welfare, cutting taxes, and anti-union monopoly legislation, among others. The paper competes with Haaretz newspaper, which began publishing an English language edition in the 1990s as an insert to the International Herald Tribune.
[edit] Today
The Jerusalem Post is published from Sunday to Friday, with no edition appearing on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) and Jewish religious holidays. The current editor-in-chief is David Horovitz (formerly editor of the Jerusalem Report) who took over for current Wall Street Journal editorial board member Bret Stephens in 2004. The paper hosts a number of regular opinion columnists who provide insights on particular subjects such as religion, foreign affairs and economics. Regular opinion columnists include Daniel Doron. The paper's current News Editor is [1]Amir Mizroch, who has directed the Post's news coverage since 2004.
The paper also publishes editions geared for the foreign market – a Christian edition, a French-language edition and an international edition – as well as several newspapers for children and teenagers. In 2007, it inaugurated a Hebrew-only business daily called The Business Post. There is also a section on Iran called "Iranian Threat'. The paper puts out an on-line edition known as [jpost.com].
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.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ CHARTRAND, SABRA (January 2, 1990). "Outcry Erupts at The Jerusalem Post Over New Publisher's Editorial Bent". The NEW YORK TIMES. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEED6103AF931A35752C0A966958260. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
- ^ The press in Israel BBC News, 8 May 2006
- ^ "There was hope that the tumult would end when the Post [was] bought […] this past November, just a few weeks after Horovitz was named as the Post’s new editor in chief. Horovitz […] has steered the Post from the right to the center politically […] " Israeli Newspaper Brawl Moving to the Internet (The Forward, February 2005)
- ^ Historical Jewish Press
- ^ a b American Newlyweds in Israel, 1948
- ^ Uri Milstein, History of Israel's War of Independence, Vol III (English edition: University Press of America, 1997, ISBN 0761807691), pages 105-107.
- ^ CanWest loses battle for 50% of 'Jerusalem Post'
- ^ 'Post' partners with Wall Street Journal
[edit] Chief editors
- Gershon Agron
- Ari Rath
- Erwin Frenkel
- Bret Stephens
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Jerusalem Post – Internet Edition
- Jerusalem Post – French Edition
- Palestine Post – complete searchable contents 1932-1950
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