Four high-profile journalists have quit the London-based Jewish weekly newspaper The Jewish Chronicle (The JC), following a scandal which saw the publication remove a series of sensational articles relating to the Gaza conflict.
Haaretz Israel News reports that columnists Jonathan Freedland and Hadley Freeman had both resigned, both sharing their decisions on social media early Sunday:
To whoever is interested in such things, 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.
— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) September 15, 2024
I have today told the editor of the Jewish Chronicle that I can no longer continue my relationship with the paper. Here is my letter to him pic.twitter.com/H5FkXJnv16
— Jonathan Freedland (@Freedland) September 15, 2024
Fellow columnists David Baddiel and David Aaronovitch have also announced their resignations.
Founded in 1841, The JC began publishing several months ago a series of articles described as being by a British-based Israeli journalist, Elon Perry, based on well-placed sources.
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The Guardian newspaper reports that when concerns were raised about the veracity of the stories, The JC began an investigation into both the stories, including one claiming Hamas leader Yayha Sinwar could flee Gaza with hostages through a tunnel – and Perry’s own resume.
The Guardian reports that on Friday The JC put out a statement saying it was unsatisfied with explanations from Perry and had therefore removed all stories written by him and ended its associations with the writer.
“The Jewish Chronicle has concluded a thorough investigation into freelance journalist Elon Perry, which commenced after allegations were made about aspects of his record. 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 Jewish Chronicle maintains the highest journalistic standards in a highly contested information landscape and we deeply regret the chain of events that led to this point. We apologise to our loyal readers and have reviewed our internal processes so that this will not be repeated.”
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