THE Jewish Chronicle is facing a crisis, with big name columnists resigning after the newspaper was found to have published fake stories about Gaza and Hamas.
Editor Jake Wallis Simons claimed on Sunday to have been “deceived” by the false stories from a freelance journalist identified as “Elon Perry”.
He spoke out after both Hadley Freeman and Jonathan Freedland announced that they were resigning their roles as columnists, with Freedland also raising concerns about the secret owners of the newspaper.
The stories under Perry’s name sparked a probe from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after he falsely reported that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar intended to smuggle Israeli hostages out of Gaza and into Iran. The report was seen as conveniently supporting baseless claims made the previous day by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Perry has also faced questions over a report which alleged to give the inside story of the assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, as well as his claims to have worked as a political science professor at Tel Aviv University – which reportedly had no record of him – and to have taken part in Israel’s 1976 Entebbe raid to rescue hostages in Uganda.
As backlash to Perry’s stories grew, various Israeli media outlets reported their own intelligence sources as saying his articles were made up.
On Friday, the Jewish Chronicle said it had “concluded a thorough investigation into freelance journalist Elon Perry, which commenced after allegations were made about aspects of his record”.
The paper said it had “removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr Perry”, going on: “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.”
I have done the same https://t.co/s5Mmc36gJy
— David Aaronovitch (@DAaronovitch) September 15, 2024
On Sunday, journalist David Aaronovitch said he had cut ties with the paper, Freeman said that “recent events have made it impossible for me to stay”, and Freedland issued a longer statement.
Noting that his father Michael Freedland had also written for the paper, Freedland said: “That bond partly explains why I've stuck with it even as it departed from the traditions that built its reputation as the world's oldest Jewish newspaper and, in its own, somewhat quaint words, 'the organ of British Jewry’.”
“The latest scandal brings great disgrace on the paper – publishing fabricated stories and showing only the thinnest form of contrition – but it is only the latest.
“Too often, the JC reads like a partisan, ideological instrument, its judgments political rather than journalistic.”
He went on: “Of course, all newspapers make mistakes and run articles that writers on the paper dislike. The problem in this case is that there can be no real accountability because the JC is owned by a person or people who refuse to reveal themselves.”
The paper’s editor Wallis Simons is facing calls to resign.
Also on Sunday, he put out a statement claiming to have been “deceived” by Perry.
He went on: “Readers can be assured that stronger internal procedures are being implemented.
"I understand why some columnists have decided to step back from the paper. I am grateful for their contributions and hope that, in time, some of them will feel able to return.
“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.”
The Sunday Times's Whitehall editor Gabriel Pogrund commented: "Thank you @Freedland and @HadleyFreeman for your eloquence and courage.
"The increasingly destructive editorship of the JC is no longer tenable. Its ownership must be revealed — and hopefully replaced too.
"The community deserves, and needs, better."
