The Jewish Chronicle

The Jewish Chronicle

Front page, 17 January 1896, showing article by Theodor Herzl (the father of political Zionism)
Type Weekly newspaper
Format Tabloid
Owner(s) Kessler Foundation (UK)
Editor Stephen Pollard[1]
Founded 1841
Language English
Headquarters 28 St. Albans Lane
London
NW11 7QE
Circulation 22,460 (June 2013)[2]
Website www.thejc.com

The Jewish Chronicle (The JC) is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world.[3]

The newspaper is published every Friday (except on days which are Jewish holidays, when it appears earlier in the week) providing news, views, social, cultural and sports reports, as well as editorials and a spectrum of readers' opinions on the letter page. It is independent and owned by the Kessler Foundation (UK), a charitable trust in the United Kingdom which has overall control of the newspaper and its assets.

History

In 1881 the leaders of the Jewish community in London were being criticised for not campaigning against the pogroms that were taking place in the Russian Empire. The late Francis Henry Goldsmid's leadership was missed by the Chronicle and it was only after the feminist Louisa Goldsmid gave her support following calls to arms by an anonymous writer named "Juriscontalus" and Asher Myers of the Jewish Chronicle that action was taken. Public meetings were then held across the country and Jewish and Christian leaders in Britain spoke out against the atrocities.[4]

Publication data and readership figures

The average number of copies sold per week is estimated to be in the region of 32,000 (accurate as of June 2010).[5] The newspaper's website includes paid-for searchable archives of all editions from the first issue to the present, making it valuable for Anglo-Jewish genealogists and historians. The website was launched in 2000 and has won three successive Weekly Newspaper on the Web awards. It was relaunched in 2008.[6][7]

The JC sponsors the Jewish Sunday league system in London, known as the Maccabi Football League.

Editorial position

The newspaper has been seen as "a firm and influential champion of Zionism".[8] In 2014 the paper published an advertisement for the Disasters Emergency Committee's Gaza appeal, for which it received complaints from a significant number of readers. The editor issued an apology for the publication of the advert,[9] stating that the paper's position was supportive of Operation Protective Edge, and that he did not accept the generally published figures on the number of civilian casualties, believing many were terrorists. The editorial stated that "Almost alone in the British media the JC has stressed Israel's right to defend herself and sought to explain why Israel was faced with no choice but to take action in Gaza."[10]

Interviews

The former Jewish Chronicle offices in Furnival Street, central London

In 1981, the publication published an interview with then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher was questioned regarding the state of Israel and how Conservative policy affected the Jewish community.[11]

In September 1999, it was the first non-Israeli newspaper to conduct an interview with Ehud Barak during his term as Prime Minister of Israel.[12]

In December 2007, the newspaper published an interview with the Labour Party donor, David Abrahams.[13][14]

In July 2013, The Jewish Chronicle hosted an audience with UKIP leader Nigel Farage. Farage was interviewed by editor Stephen Pollard, and took questions from the audience.[15]

Libel lawsuits

Dr Othman Moqbel, Dr Hussein Nagi and Mr Mohamad Yousef of Human Appeal International received an apology and substantial damages from The Jewish Chronicle following articles published in February 2012 in the newspaper and on its website, suggesting that Human Appeal International, a British charity, had been designated as a terrorist organisation by the US government and had diverted donations to fund terror and to support the families of suicide bombers. An apology was published in the newspaper on 31 May and on its website on 30 May.[16]

Chief editors

See also

References

  1. ↑ 'Fantastic timing': a baptism of fire at the Jewish Chronicle The Independent. 11 January 2009
  2. ↑ "Mag ABCs: Full circulation round-up for the first half of 2013". Press Gazette. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  3. ↑ The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 Cambridge University Press
  4. ↑ C. S. Monaco (2013). The Rise of Modern Jewish Politics: Extraordinary Movement. Routledge. pp. 148–. ISBN 978-0-415-65983-3.
  5. ↑ "Jewish Chronicle bucks sales trend - Greensdale Blog". Guardian.co.uk. 23 August 2010.
  6. ↑ Jewish Chronicle relaunches website with open source software Journalism.co.uk. 10 July 2008
  7. ↑ Jewish Chronicle adds social networking in website revamp Brand Republic. 11 September 2008
  8. ↑ David Cesarani (3 March 1994). The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991. Cambridge University Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-521-43434-8.
  9. ↑ "Jewish Chronicle apologises after running Gaza appeal advert". BBC. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Roy Greenslade (15 August 2014). "Jewish Chronicle editor apologises for running Gaza appeal advert". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Interview for Jewish Chronicle Margaret Thatcher Foundation. 19 June 1981
  12. ↑ "The Jewish Chronicle". Website.thejc.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Jewish Chronicle defends its coverage of David Abrahams The Guardian. 7 December 2007
  14. ↑ "The Jewish Chronicle on how they got the Abrahams interview". The Spectator. 7 December 2007.
  15. ↑ "UKIP Leader Nigel Farage Supports Israel". The Algemeiner Journal. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Human Appeal International: an apology". The Jewish Chronicle. 30 May 2013.
  17. ↑ Day, Julia (21 February 2006). "Jewish Chronicle appoints new editor". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  18. ↑ Brook, Stephen (30 June 2008). "Condé Nast to launch Wired in the UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2015.

Further reading

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