Photo Credits: THE JEWISH CHRONICLE CREDIT: PXHERE.COM.
By Mira Crane ’27
Global Editor
Columnists Jonathan Freedland, Hadley Freeman and David Aaronovitch have recently broken relations with the United Kingdom’s Jewish Chronicle, the world's oldest Jewish newspaper, after the publication faced accusations of false reporting. According to The Forward, the most prominent Jewish newspaper in the United States, the resignations are due to allegations that some of the paper’s stories about the Israel-Hamas war were fabricated to fall in line with comments made by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The BBC reported that The Jewish Chronicle launched an investigation into one of their freelance journalists, Elon Perry, after concerns were voiced about his record, and they were unable to prove claims about Perry’s background. The Jewish Chronicle deleted his articles after finding some of his claims to be unsatisfactory, and has ended their association with him.
According to The Forward, Perry had reported that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had plans to escape from Gaza with some of the remaining Israeli hostages via the Philadelphi corridor, in an attempt to get to Iran. Much the same story was published in the German tabloid BILD, which is also facing criticism.
Netanyahu made some similar statements about Sinwar’s plans the day before the article’s publishing, and the ongoing Israeli military presence in the Philadelphi corridor has been a major issue hampering ceasefire negotiations. Perry also wrote a story on Israel Defense Forces soldiers living undercover in Gaza before a hostage rescue, a story no other news source has corroborated.
The New York Times reported that Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, expressed that he was not aware of any intelligence indicating that Sinwar planned to escape with hostages. Other officials termed the claims “wild fabrications.”
There is also some uncertainty about The Jewish Chronicle’s ownership. According to the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in 2020 the paper was rescued from liquidation by BBC Non-Executive Director Sir Robbie Gibb through a consortium he led. This has led to some questions, as many considered it unlikely that Gibbs was in possession of the financial means to save the paper. There has been subsequent speculation over the paper’s true owner. The New York Times reported that Gibbs resigned as the paper’s director in August and was replaced by two new directors.
The Forward reported that The Jewish Chronicle’s Editor, Jake Wallis Simmons, issued an apology for the fraudulent articles. “I take full responsibility for the mistakes that have been made and I will take equal responsibility for the task of making sure nothing like this can happen again,” Simmons said, as reported by The Forward. He added that he hopes the columnists that resigned will choose to return at some point in the future.
According to The New York Times, The Jewish Chronicle has an important place in Britain’s Jewish community and a long history. Founded in 1841, The Jewish Chronicle has a weekly community publication that records births, weddings and deaths, and British Jews have marked milestones by putting a notice in the paper for decades.
According to Mount Holyoke College Visiting Professor in Jewish Studies Madeleine Cohen, “Especially since the late 19th century through the 20th century, [Jewish newspapers] have served to keep Jewish communities informed on both local and international matters related to Jewish and general topics, usually through different political and religious perspectives. … They have also been extremely important spaces to keep Jewish communities connected in diaspora.” The historical and social significance of The Jewish Chronicle is part of the reason why this incident has been a source of sorrow and anger for the paper’s long standing contributors.