Jewish Chronicle Scandal: When 'pro-Israel' Means Becoming a Megaphone for the Netanyahu Government
The venerable British Jewish paper has increasingly abandoned journalistic integrity in order to champion causes widely associated with the Israeli right. In Israel too, parts of the media share its descent from reporting to propaganda
Etab Hechin, Haaretz
On September 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dramatically declared the Philadelphi route that separates Gaza from Egypt as "the cornerstone of our existence" – all but proclaiming it a magical barrier that prevents hostages from being spirited away to Sinai, Iran or Yemen.
Miraculously, just three days later, veteran British weekly The Jewish Chronicle – hardly a household name in Israel for explosive news – published a "major scoop" by a freelancer called Elon Perry. His story claimed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was plotting a barely believable escape to Iran with Israeli hostages in tow. This fortuitously timed piece came just as the murder of six hostages in Rafah had triggered mass protests on the streets of Israel calling for a cease-fire and hostage-release deal.
The story in the Jewish Chronicle, peddled by Netanyahu's media cronies, seemed tailor-made to silence critics and advocate for the war's continuation. Seizing the narrative, the prime minister referenced this obscure report to rationalize ongoing military actions.
However, the plot thickened as skepticism mounted over the story's credibility, with respected Israeli reporters calling it a wild concoction. An Israel Defense Forces probe was launched into this potential disinformation campaign as well.
The JC story's narrative quickly unraveled, exposing not only the documents to be forgeries but also revealing "Elon Perry" to be one Eli Yifrach – who is neither a journalist nor Tel Aviv University professor, as he claimed to be. He was "outed" by the Israeli current events show "Hazinor." The reporter confronting Yifrach was met with a torrent of abuse, including the wish that he be murdered by Hamas.
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