In a major shake-up, four well-known columnists have departed from The Jewish Chronicle, a prominent London-based weekly, amidst a controversy over a series of dubious reports concerning the Gaza conflict. According to Haaretz Israel News, Jonathan Freedland and Hadley Freeman led the charge by announcing their resignations via social media on Sunday.
Freeman expressed gratitude for the editorial support he received during his tenure, but stated that recent developments made his continued association with the publication untenable. “I’ve resigned as a columnist from @JewishChron. I’m immensely grateful for all the support I’ve had from the editors during my time there, and enjoyed writing for it enormously. But recent events have made it impossible for me to stay,” Freeman tweeted.
Freedland also disclosed that he had informed the publication’s editor about his decision to leave, and shared his resignation letter online.
Additionally, fellow columnists David Baddiel and David Aaronovitch have announced their exits from the newspaper. The Jewish Chronicle has its roots dating back to 1841. The recent turmoil stemmed from a series of sensational articles that featured claims attributed to Elon Perry, a British-based Israeli journalist. These articles, based on alleged insider information, faced scrutiny regarding their accuracy.
Reports indicate that when doubts were raised about the credibility of the stories, The Jewish Chronicle initiated an investigation into both Perry’s claims and his background. This resulted in the newspaper issuing a statement that expressed dissatisfaction with the explanations provided by Perry, leading to the removal of all his authored articles from their website.
“The Jewish Chronicle has concluded a thorough investigation into freelance journalist Elon Perry,” the statement read. “While we understand he did serve in the Israel Defense Forces, we were not satisfied with some of his claims. We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr. Perry.”
The newspaper’s statement emphasized their commitment to maintaining stringent journalistic standards, particularly in a contentious and complicated information landscape. They acknowledged the missteps that led to this situation and apologized to their loyal readership, pledging to reassess their internal processes to prevent similar issues in the future.