Jerusalem Post
| The Jerusalem Post | |
|---|---|
 The May 16, 1948 Palestine Post headline announcing the creation of the state of Israel | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | CanWest Global Communications |
| Founded | December 1, 1932 (as The Palestine Post) |
| Headquarters |  Jerusalem
|
| 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. Renamed the Jerusalem Post after the establishment of the state of Israel, it is the largest English-language daily paper in the country. The newspaper has a daily readership of only about 50,000, but it is widely read by Israeli politicians and foreign journalists and so has a broader reach than other newspapers in Israel.
The Jerusalem Post is an independent publication that is not aligned with any segment of Israeli society, although it is viewed as having a right of center view on politics. The paper is seen as a link between Israel and the Jewish diaspora around the world. It maintains an online edition. In print, the Jerusalem Post also publishes other editions geared for the local and foreign markets including a Christian edition published in the hopes of uniting Christian and Jewish Zionists. This goal, along with the right-leaning positions advocated in the paper makes the paper the hard-line voice in conversations regarding Arab-Israeli and Israeli-world affairs, issues that have continued to be of paramount importance in twenty-first century efforts toward the establishment of a world of peace and harmony.
History
The Palestine Post was founded on December 1, 1932, by American journalist-turned-newspaper-editor, Gershon Agron in Mandate 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.
The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 led to important events in the paper's history. On February 1, 1948, the Arab leader Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni coordinated a bombing of the building in which the paper was located, which also housed a cache of weapons. The bomb destroyed the Hagana post, a large part of the Palestine Post offices, and badly damaged several nearby buildings.[1] The newspaper changed its name in 1950, two years after the state of Israel was declared and the Mandate of Palestine ended.
Until 1989 the Jerusalem Post supported the forerunners of the Labour Party and had a liberal or left of center political orientation. In 1989 it was purchased by Hollinger Inc. Under the control of Canadian conservative newspaper magnate Conrad Black, the paper became supportive of the Likud, a center-right political party. The Likud's roots were in Ze'ev Jabotinsky's Revisionist Zionism which became the Herut party and was the main opposition to the Labour Zionist Mapai party. A number of journalists resigned from the Post after Black's takeover and founded the left-wing weekly Jerusalem Report, which eventually was sold to the Post.
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.
Today
The newspaper is viewed as having a moderate right of center slant on news coverage, although left-wing columns 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. This view mostly appeals to the conservative Jewish population in Jerusalem and Israel, rather than the Muslim or Christian residents of the area.
As with other Israeli newspapers, the Jerusalem Post is published from Sunday to Friday, with no edition appearing on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) and Jewish religious holidays.
The paper is seen as a link between Israel and the Jewish diaspora around the world. The paper competes with the libertarian Haaretz newspaper, which began publishing an English language edition in the 1990s as an insert to the International Herald Tribune. In print, the Jerusalem Post also publishes other editions geared for the local and foreign markets: a Christian Edition, French, 'International', as well as several kids and youth magazines.
The Christian edition of the paper is published in the hopes of uniting "lovers of Zion," as the editors believe that there is not enough dialogue between Christian and Jewish Zionists, which has become increasingly important with the revival of evangelical Christianity.
Now, after almost 2,000 years of mutual ignorance, often mixed with fear and contempt, the world’s Jews and Christians are beginning to realize how very much they have in common, and to move toward a rejoining of "root" and "branch." Christian Zionism has become a worldwide phenomenon, "a sign of the times."
For this reason, The Jerusalem Post has established a monthly Christian Edition, so that lovers of Zion everywhere can follow these epochal events as they unfold. We invite anyone in a position to do so—Christian media, ministers and lay leaders—to help ensure that this new publication, its content tailored specifically to Christians who care deeply about the well-being of Israel and the Jewish people, reaches the widest possible audience.
It’s our hope and belief that the Christian Edition will bring Jews and Christians even closer together, to the benefit of all.[2]
This goal, along with the right-leaning positions advocated in the paper makes the paper the hard-line voice in conversations regarding Arab-Israeli and Israeli-world affairs.
The newspaper also maintains an online edition named jpost.com. In 2007, it also started publishing a Hebrew-only business daily called The Business Post.
Notes
- ↑ Uri Milstein, History of Israel's War of Independence, Vol III (English edition: University Press of America, 1997, ISBN 0761807691), pages 105-107.
- ↑ Message from Gershom Gale, Editor, The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Frenkel, Erwin. 1993. The Press and Politics in Israel: The Jerusalem Post from 1932 to the Present. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313289573
- Hart, Harold. 1974. Yom Kippur plus 100 days: The human side of the war and its aftermath, as shown through the columns of the Jerusalem post. Hart Publishing Co. ISBN 0805511326
- Jerusalem Post. 1987. Front page Israel: Major events as reflected in the front pages of the Jerusalem post. ISBN 0933503091
- Landau, Asher. 1996. The Jerusalem Post Law Reports. Geffen Books. ISBN 9652238279
External links
All links retrieved July 31, 2022.
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