View source for The Jewish Chronicle

{{short description|London-based Jewish weekly newspaper}}
{{About|the London-based newspaper|the Pittsburgh-based newspaper|Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle|the Milwaukee-based newspaper|Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name               = The Jewish Chronicle
| logo               = The_Jewish_Chronicle_logo.png
| image              = [[Image:JewishChronicle1896.jpg|250px|border]]
| caption            = Front page, 17 January 1896, showing article by [[Theodor Herzl]])
| type               = [[Weekly newspaper]]
| format             = [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|Tabloid]]
| ceased_publication =
| headquarters       = London
| founded            = 1841
| owners             = 
| language           = [[English language|English]]
| political_position = 
| publishing_country = England
| circulation        = 10,082
| circulation_date   = 2024
| circulation_ref    = <ref>{{cite web |title=Jewish Chronicle - Print|url=https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2718 |publisher=[[Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK)|Audit Bureau of Circulations]] |date=18 February 2025 |access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>
| ISSN               = 0021-633X
| editor             = Daniel Schwammenthal
| website            = {{URL|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.<ref>[http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521019133 The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404174534/https://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521019133 |date=4 April 2023 }} Cambridge University Press</ref> Its editor ({{as of|since=y|lc=y|2025|1}}) is Daniel Schwammenthal.

The newspaper is published every Friday (except when this is a [[Jewish holidays|Jewish holiday]], when it appears earlier in the week) providing news, opinion pieces, social, cultural and sports reports, as well as editorials and a spectrum of readers' opinions on the letter page. The news section of its website is updated several times a day.

The average weekly circulation in 2024 was 10,082, of which 4,442 were free copies, down from 32,875 in 2008.<ref name="abc-2018">{{Cite web |title=''The Jewish Chronicle''|url=https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2718 |access-date=12 March 2025 |publisher=ABC |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404173441/https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2718 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=pg-20190620/> In February 2020, it announced plans to merge with the ''[[Jewish News]]'' but, in April 2020, entered voluntary liquidation and was acquired from the liquidators by a private consortium of political insiders, broadcasters and bankers. The paper's political stance under editor [[Jake Wallis Simons]] subsequently moved to the right.<ref name=":1" />

In 2024, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that some of the newspaper's prominent journalists had quit the newspaper due to its purportedly unknown ownership arrangements and publication of fabricated stories.<ref name="jn-20240915" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Rusbridger |first=Alan |title=Who really funds the Jewish Chronicle? Why it's troubling that we don't know… |author-link= Alan Rusbridger|url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/65839/who-really-funds-the-jewish-chronicle-why-its-troubling-that-we-dont-know |access-date=15 September 2024 |website=[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="guardian-20240915" />

==History==
===19th century===
''The Jewish Chronicle'' first appeared on 12 November 1841. Its first editors were David Meldola and [[Moses Angel]]. It was issued as a weekly until May 1842, when it was suspended. From October 1844, it resumed as a fortnightly, with Joseph Mitchell as its editor. In 1847, it became again a weekly newspaper. [[Abraham Benisch|A. Benisch]], who became the proprietor and editor in 1855, bequeathed the paper to the [[Anglo-Jewish Association]] in 1878, who sold it to its new editor and anti-Zionist [[Asher Isaac Myers|Asher I. Myers]], [[Sydney Montagu Samuel|Sydney M. Samuel]] and Israel David.<ref name="encycl">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jewish-chronicle |title=''Jewish Chronicle'' |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=9 October 2018 |archive-date=9 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009211729/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jewish-chronicle |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1881, the leaders of the Jewish community in London were being criticised for not campaigning against the [[Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire|pogroms that were taking place in the Russian Empire]]. Under the leadership of [[Francis Goldsmid|Francis Henry Goldsmid]], the pogroms were not mentioned by the newspaper 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.<ref name="Monaco2013">{{Cite book|last=Monaco|first=CS|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6OiFO2crdgC&pg=PA148 |title=The Rise of Modern Jewish Politics: Extraordinary Movement |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-65983-3 |pages=148–}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:The Jewish Chronicle, August 17, 1900.jpg|thumb|The Jewish Chronicle, 17 August 1900, [[World Zionist Congress|Zionist Congress]]: Full Report. No. 1. In the collection of the [[Jewish Museum of Switzerland]]. ]]
In December 1906, [[L. J. Greenberg|L.J. Greenberg]], a successful advertising agent and English Zionist leader, contacted the Dutch banker Jacobus Kann with the object of buying ''The Jewish Chronicle'' to promote [[Zionism]].<ref>[https://www.thejc.com/news/news-features/how-the-jc-helped-shape-the-debate-1.448157 Cesarani, David. "How the JC helped shape the debate". ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 16 November 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2021] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007223127/https://www.thejc.com/news/news-features/how-the-jc-helped-shape-the-debate-1.448157 |date=7 October 2018 }}.</ref> The same month, Greenberg, together with David Wolffsohn, Joseph Cowen, Jacobus H. Kahn, and Leopold Kessler, bought the shares. Greenberg himself became its editor.<ref name="encycl"/>

At the time, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' gained a near monopoly in the Jewish press, taking over its principal competitors, ''The Hebrew Observer'' and ''The Jewish World''. Only in October 1919 did ''The JC'' get a strong opposing voice from ''The Jewish Guardian'', the paper of the [[League of British Jews]], which counterbalanced the Zionist views of ''The JC'', until it disappeared in 1931. After Greenberg died the same year, ''The JC'' remained moderately pro-Zionist under the leadership of [[Leopold Kessler (Zionist)|Leopold Kessler]].<ref name="encycl"/>

The weekly newspaper ''[[The Jewish World (London)|The Jewish World]]'' was taken over in 1913. It published articles by various Zionist leaders, as well as early non-Jewish pro-Zionists. In 1934, it was merged with ''The Jewish Chronicle''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-world |title=Jewish World |work=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=9 October 2018 |archive-date=11 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011214450/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-world |url-status=live }}</ref> After 1948, the paper maintained a pro-Israel attitude.

In the late 1930s, [[David F. Kessler]] became managing director to assist his chairman father [[Leopold Kessler (Zionist)|Leopold Kessler]], a moderate Zionist and an associate of [[Theodor Herzl]], known as the father of the [[State of Israel]]. After service as a soldier in [[World War II]] during which his father had died, Kessler found that the editor, [[Ivan Greenberg]], had taken a right-wing Zionist position highly critical of moderate Zionists and the British policy in Palestine. Kessler, after a struggle with the newspaper's board, sacked Greenberg and installed a moderate editor.<ref name="guardian-19991201">{{Cite news |last=Paul |first=Geoffrey |date=1 December 1999 |title=David Kessler |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/dec/01/guardianobituaries |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829123821/https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/dec/01/guardianobituaries |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the early 1960s, the Kessler family owned 80% of the newspaper's shares. To safeguard the newspaper's future, Kessler created a foundation ownership structure loosely modelled on the [[Scott Trust Limited|Scott Trust]], owners of ''[[The Guardian]]''. Kessler was chairman for nearly 30 years, until his death in 1999.<ref name=guardian-19991201/>

[[Joseph Finklestone]] wrote for the paper from 1946 to 1992 in roles including sports editor, chief sub-editor, home news editor, assistant editor, foreign editor, and diplomatic editor.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raven |first=Rebecca |date=15 March 2002 |title=Joseph Finklestone |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/15/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing|access-date=23 September 2019|archive-date=23 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923120457/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/mar/15/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing |url-status=live }}</ref>

Geoffrey Paul (''né'' Goldstein) was editor between 1977 and 1990.<ref name="TOI Fraser">{{Cite news |last=Frazer |first=Jenni |date=6 August 2019 |title=Tributes paid to former JC editor Geoffrey Paul, who dies aged 90 |work=[[Jewish News]] |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/tributes-paid-to-former-jc-editor-geoffrey-paul-who-dies-aged-90/ |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609032104/https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/tributes-paid-to-former-jc-editor-geoffrey-paul-who-dies-aged-90/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===21st century===
Editors of ''The Jewish Chronicle'' have included [[Ned Temko]], 1990 to 2005, Jeff Barak (managing editor, 2006), who returned to Israel, and David Rowan, 2006 to 2008, who joined ''[[The Observer]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Day |first=Julia |date=21 February 2006 |title=Jewish Chronicle appoints new editor |work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/21/pressandpublishing.religion |access-date=23 September 2019 |archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809055122/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/21/pressandpublishing.religion |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Stephen Pollard]] became editor in November 2008<ref name="Bell">{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Matthew |date=11 January 2009 |title='Fantastic timing': a baptism of fire at the Jewish Chronicle |work=[[The Independent on Sunday]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/fantastic-timing-a-baptism-of-fire-at-the-jewish-chronicle-1299058.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/fantastic-timing-a-baptism-of-fire-at-the-jewish-chronicle-1299058.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref> and editor-at-large in December 2021. He was succeeded as editor by Jake Wallis Simons.<ref name="Spectator">{{Cite news |date=December 2021 |title=Jake Wallis Simons |work=[[The Spectator]] |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/jake-wallis-simons |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216220910/https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/jake-wallis-simons |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2018, the newspaper made a loss of about £1.1 million, following a loss of £460,000 in the previous year.<ref name=pg-20190620/> After a number of years of declining circulation and a pension deficit, the reserves of its owners since 1984, the charity The Kessler Foundation,<ref name="charity-290759">{{Cite web |title=The Kessler Foundation|url=https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=290759 |access-date=29 August 2019 |publisher=Charity Commission |id=Charity no. 290759 |archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809015651/https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=290759 |url-status=live }}</ref> had been exhausted and they planned to introduce revenue and cost measures to reduce losses.<ref name="cc-20190610">{{Cite web |date=10 June 2019 |title=The Kessler Foundation - Financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2018|url=http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends59/0000290759_AC_20180630_E_C.PDF |access-date=29 August 2019 |website=The Kessler Foundation |publisher=Charity Commission |archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829103909/http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends59/0000290759_AC_20180630_E_C.PDF |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the editor, the paper had been facing the "real threat" of having to close<ref name=pg-20190620/> and the ''[[Press Gazette]]'' reported its situation as "facing a grave closure threat". [[Jonathan Goldstein (business man)|Jonathan Goldstein]], chairman of the [[Jewish Leadership Council]], organised a consortium of 20 individuals, families and charitable trusts to make donations to The Kessler Foundation to enable its continued support of the newspaper. [[Alan Jacobs (businessman)|Alan Jacobs]], founder of [[Jacobs Capital]], became the new chairman.<ref name="pg-20190620">{{Cite news |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=20 June 2019 |title=Cash donors save Jewish Chronicle from 'grave' closure threat |work=Press Gazette|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/cash-donors-save-jewish-chronicle-from-grave-closure-threat/ |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829132220/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/cash-donors-save-jewish-chronicle-from-grave-closure-threat/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jc-20190620">{{Cite news |date=20 June 2019|title=Good news about the future of the JC |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/good-news-about-the-future-of-the-jc-1.485633 |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=29 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829120054/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/good-news-about-the-future-of-the-jc-1.485633 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In February 2020, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' and ''[[Jewish News]]'' announced plans to merge, subject to raising the necessary finance to support the merger. Combined, they printed more than 40,000 copies weekly.<ref name="jc-20200212">{{Cite news |date=12 February 2020 |title=Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News announce plans to merge |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-chronicle-and-jewish-news-announce-plans-to-merge-1.496741 |access-date=21 February 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213131630/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/jewish-chronicle-and-jewish-news-announce-plans-to-merge-1.496741 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 8 April 2020, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' went into liquidation, and both papers announced their intentions to close, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID lockdown]].<ref name="Waterson">{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |author-link=Jim Waterson |date=8 April 2020|title=Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News to close and staff laid off |newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/08/jewish-chronicle-and-jewish-news-to-be-liquidated-and-staff-laid-off |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408120017/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/08/jewish-chronicle-and-jewish-news-to-be-liquidated-and-staff-laid-off |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC liquid">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2020 |title=The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News to go into liquidation |work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52215353 |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408154222/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52215353 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jc-20200408">{{Cite news |date=8 April 2020 |title=An announcement from the Jewish Chronicle |work=The Jewish Chronicle |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/an-announcement-from-the-jewish-chronicle-1.498949 |access-date=1 February 2021 |archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127202603/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/an-announcement-from-the-jewish-chronicle-1.498949 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=8 April 2020 |title=Statement from the board of the Jewish News |work=Jewish News|url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/statement-from-the-board-of-the-jewish-news/ |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408124857/https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/statement-from-the-board-of-the-jewish-news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2020, when the ''Chronicle'' faced closure due to financial problems during the Covid pandemic, threats to the paper's survival were met by sadness and some jubilation, with journalists [[Jonathan Freedland]] and [[Hadley Freeman]] expressing sorrow, and some [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] supporters welcoming its demise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sloane |first=Wendy |title=The challenges facing the Jewish Chronicle and the role of faith-based media|url=https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/expert-commentary/2020/april/the-end-of-the-jewish-chronicle-and-the-role-of-faith-based-media/ |access-date=22 July 2021 |website=London Metropolitan University |archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722215251/https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/expert-commentary/2020/april/the-end-of-the-jewish-chronicle-and-the-role-of-faith-based-media/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Kessler Trust launched a bid to buy the two papers, giving editorial control to the senior staff of the ''News''. However, a £2.5 million counter-offer, supported by the editor, was accepted by the liquidators and trust in what ''The Guardian'' described as a brief but messy takeover bid.<ref name="Waterson 2020">{{Cite web |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=23 April 2020 |title=Jewish Chronicle saved by consortium after messy takeover battle|url=http://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/23/jewish-chronicle-saved-by-consortium-after-messy-takeover-battle |access-date=20 September 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921112649/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/23/jewish-chronicle-saved-by-consortium-after-messy-takeover-battle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pressgazette">{{Cite news |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=21 April 2020 |title=Jewish News back to 'business as usual' as Chronicle merger plan thwarted by surprise bid |work=Press Gazette|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-news-back-to-business-as-usual-as-chronicle-merger-plan-thwarted-by-surprise-bid/ |access-date=21 April 2020 |archive-date=23 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423055021/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-news-back-to-business-as-usual-as-chronicle-merger-plan-thwarted-by-surprise-bid/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CityAM 2020">{{Cite web |date=23 April 2020 |title=Robbie Gibb consortium wins last-minute bid for Jewish Chronicle after dramatic row|url=https://www.cityam.com/consortium-wins-last-minute-bid-for-jewish-chronicle-after-dramatic-row/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |website=CityAM |archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212723/https://www.cityam.com/consortium-wins-last-minute-bid-for-jewish-chronicle-after-dramatic-row/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The consortium was led by [[Robbie Gibb]] and included [[John Woodcock (politician)|John Woodcock]], broadcasters [[Jonathan Sacerdoti]] and [[John Ware (TV journalist)|John Ware]] and [[Jonathan Kandel]], former [[Charity Commission]] chairman [[William Shawcross]], [[Jonathan Hughes (rabbi)|Rabbi Jonathan Hughes]], [[Investec]]'s corporate and institutional banking chief operating officer [[Robert Swerling]], managing partner at [[EMK Capital]] Mark Joseph, and [[Tom Boltman]], head of strategic initiatives at [[Kovrr]], with support from anonymous philanthropists.<ref name="consortium">{{Cite news |last=Di Stefano |first=Mark |date=23 April 2020 |title=Consortium wins bid for Jewish Chronicle |work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/dd1cd5d5-178c-46ce-a95c-8f33f88d1a46 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-date=5 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505221526/https://www.ft.com/content/dd1cd5d5-178c-46ce-a95c-8f33f88d1a46 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CityAM 2020"/><ref name="Tobitt 2020">{{Cite web |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=23 April 2020 |title=Jewish Chronicle under new ownership as consortium's 'very generous' offer accepted|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-under-new-ownership-as-consortiums-very-generous-offer-accepted/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |website=Press Gazette |archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212802/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-under-new-ownership-as-consortiums-very-generous-offer-accepted/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The consortium said it was running the paper as a community asset, not for profit, and that it would set up a trust to ensure its editorial independence.<ref name="Tobitt 2020" /><ref name="Martin 2020">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=James |date=23 April 2020 |title=Hold the front page: Jewish Chronicle sold; editor stays; some buyers not named|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/hold-the-front-page-uk-jewish-chronicle-sold-some-of-its-buyers-not-yet-named/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |website=The Times of Israel |archive-date=20 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213123/https://www.timesofisrael.com/hold-the-front-page-uk-jewish-chronicle-sold-some-of-its-buyers-not-yet-named/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''News'' was then taken out of liquidation.<ref name="CityAM 2020" /><ref name="Tobitt 2020" /><ref name="Martin 2020" /> However, the identity of other backers in the consortium was unknown, which is highly unusual for a significant UK newspaper.<ref name=":3" /> Ware told ''[[The Times]]'' in September 2024, "I, and some others, repeatedly asked to be told who the new funders were. We were told that wouldn't be possible. I was assured that they were politically mainstream and I trusted those assurances because I trusted who gave them. I didn't want the paper to fold so I allowed my name to be used, having been told it would help. I had zero managerial, financial or editorial influence, control or input, nor ever have had. It was just a name."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last1=Parker|first1=Charlie |last2=Farber |first2=Alex |date=22 September 2024 |title=Who owns The Jewish Chronicle? Why the mystery made writers quit|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/media/article/who-owns-the-jewish-chronicle-why-the-mystery-made-writers-quit-7696nzrjk |access-date=2 September 2025 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref> Due to concerns over the publication's new editorial line under Wallis Simons, Ware stopped writing for ''The Jewish Chronicle'' in February 2024, defecting to the ''Jewish News.<ref name=":4" />'' Former ''Chronicle'' journalist Lee Harpin said in September 2024 that after the takeover he was told the new owners wanted more views "well to the right of the Tory party".<ref name="prospect-20240918" />

Some sources suggested that the funding may have come from a right-wing American billionaire, [[Paul Singer (businessman)|Paul Singer]], known as a "longtime supporter of hawkish pro-Israel causes", the [[Likud]] party, and [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]. However, Singer's hedge-fund company has denied the claim.<ref name=":3" /> There were also concerns about the potential conflict of interest for Gibb, who sat on the BBC's editorial standards committee while the JC editor had been critical of the BBC's coverage of the [[Gaza–Israel conflict|Israel-Gaza conflict]].<ref name=":3" />

On 15 March 2024, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' announced ownership of the paper would transfer to a newly created [[charitable trust]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Bron |date=15 March 2024 |title=Jewish Chronicle to become a charitable trust|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/jewish-chronicle-charitable-trust/ |access-date=15 March 2024 |website=Press Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2024, its editor told ''[[The Guardian]]'' the ownership transfer had taken place in July 2024, but ''The Guardian'' could find no evidence of the transfer in [[Companies House]] records, and the [[Charity Commission for England and Wales|Charity Commission]] said that it had no record of an application from ''The Jewish Chronicle''. However Jonathan Kandel, a former tax lawyer apparently now associated with investment company [[Starwood Capital Group]], was listed at Companies House as a person with significant control, replacing Jonathan Kandel, and a director of Jewish Chronicle Media.<ref name=guardian-20240920>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/sep/20/elon-perry-jewish-chronicle |title=How the Elon Perry fabrication scandal shook the Jewish Chronicle |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |last2=Weaver |first2=Matthew |last3=Hudson |first3=Sam |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 September 2024 |access-date=22 September 2024}}</ref><ref name=prospect-20240918>{{cite news|url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/67900/why-a-scandal-at-the-jewish-chronicle-also-goes-to-the-top-of-the-bbc |title=Why a scandal at the Jewish Chronicle also goes to the top of the BBC |last=Rusbridger |first=Alan |magazine=Prospect |date=18 September 2024 |access-date=22 September 2024}}</ref>

==== Elon Perry controversy ====
In September 2024, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' removed several articles from its website that had been criticised by Israeli media as fabrications.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Beaumont |first=Peter |date=14 September 2024 |title=Crisis at Jewish Chronicle as stories based on 'wild fabrications' are withdrawn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/14/crisis-at-jewish-chronicle-as-stories-are-withdrawn |access-date=14 September 2024 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2024 |title=UK's Jewish Chronicle removes stories by writer accused of fabrications about Gaza war|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-jewish-chronicle-removes-stories-by-writer-accused-of-fabrications-about-gaza-war/ |access-date=14 September 2024 |website=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Chronicle: Jonathan Freedland and Hadley Freeman quit in Gaza articles row|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnn153zg1o |access-date=30 September 2024 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/world/europe/jewish-chronicle-uk-fabricated-stories-owner.html | title=A 180-Year-Old Jewish Paper is Roiled by Fabrications and a Secret: Who Owns It? | website=[[The New York Times]] | date=30 September 2024 }}</ref> The nine reports were written by Elon Perry, a freelancer with no apparent track record as a journalist who had provided a questionable résumé.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} One of his articles claimed Israel had intelligence that Hamas leader [[Yahya Sinwar]] was planning to smuggle Israeli hostages to Iran and accompany them there.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2024 |title=Jewish Chronicle fires freelance journalist Elon Perry after false reporting on Gaza war |url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-820070 |access-date=14 September 2024 |website=The Jerusalem Post  |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> This echoed a talking point previously raised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and was seen by commentators in Israel as an attempt to drum up support for Netanyahu's unpopular stance in hostage negotiations at the time.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Beaumont |first=Peter |date=12 September 2024 |title=IDF investigates claim Jewish Chronicle published stories based on 'fabricated intelligence'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/12/idf-investigates-claim-jewish-chronicle-published-stories-based-on-fabricated-intelligence |access-date=14 September 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> IDF spokesperson [[Daniel Hagari]] said he was unaware of any intelligence about Sinwar intending to flee to Iran with hostages.<ref name=":2" />

On 15 September 2024, four prominent long-time columnists, [[David Aaronovitch]], [[David Baddiel]], [[Jonathan Freedland]] and [[Hadley Freeman]], resigned from the newspaper due to their view that it was making political rather than journalistic judgements, and because of the recent fabricated stories. ''[[Sunday Times]]'' journalist Josh Glancy had resigned with similar concerns in 2023.<ref name="jn-20240915">{{cite news |last=Ferrer |first=Richard |date=15 September 2024 |title=Four Jewish Chronicle writers quit, accusing it of prioritising politics over journalism|url=https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/three-jewish-chronicle-writers-quit-accusing-it-of-prioritising-politics-over-journalism/ |access-date=15 September 2024 |newspaper=Jewish News}}</ref><ref name=guardian-20240915>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/sep/15/columnists-quit-jewish-chronicle-gaza-conflict-stories |title=Columnists quit Jewish Chronicle over Gaza stories based on 'fabrications' |last=Weaver |first=Matthew |newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 September 2024 |access-date=15 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgnn153zg1o|title=Columnists quit Jewish Chronicle in Gaza articles row|publisher=BBC news}}</ref>

On 18 September 2024, a ''[[Haaretz]]'' opinion piece by Etan Nechin stated the view that ''The JC'' had "increasingly abandoned [[journalistic integrity]] in order to champion causes widely associated with the [[Israeli right]]" and was "predisposed to deception".<ref name=guardian-20240920/><ref name="haaretz-20240918">{{cite news |last=Nechin |first=Etan |date=18 September 2024 |title=Jewish Chronicle scandal: When 'pro-Israel' means becoming a megaphone for the Netanyahu government|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/jewish-chronicle-scandal-when-pro-israel-means-megaphone-for-the-netanyahu-government/00000192-05ac-dc60-a5fb-edee04ab0000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240918164123/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/jewish-chronicle-scandal-when-pro-israel-means-megaphone-for-the-netanyahu-government/00000192-05ac-dc60-a5fb-edee04ab0000 |archive-date=18 September 2024 |access-date=22 September 2024 |work=[[Haaretz]] }}</ref>

==Editorial positions==
Under the ownership of Asher Myers and Israel Davis, from 1878, the paper was hostile to Zionism, in line with the official positions of the religious and lay leaders of the community. After Leopold Greenberg had taken over the paper in 1906, it became strongly Zionist, and it was made into "a firm and influential champion of Zionism".{{sfn|Cesarani|1994|p=130}}

''The JC'' supported the 1917 [[Balfour Declaration]], the publication of which was postponed for a week in order to allow ''The Jewish Chronicle'' to publish its opinion in time. After the Declaration was issued, however, the paper became critical of [[Chaim Weizmann]]. Greenberg was discontented with the too vague definition of the Zionist goals and wanted him to state clearly that Palestine must be politically Jewish. He wanted to define the "National Home" as a Jewish Commonwealth.{{sfn|Cesarani|1994|pp=127–128}} Although JC's support of Zionism somewhat decreased after Greenberg's death, it has consistently devoted considerable space to Israel and Zionism.<ref name="encycl"/>

Under Leopold Greenberg, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' was hostile to the Reform and Liberal movements in Britain. Over the years, attention shifted from Orthodoxy in Anglo-Jewry to developments in Progressive Judaism, while becoming more critical of the Orthodox position on [[halakhic]] issues.<ref name="encycl"/>

In 2009, responding to the issue of bias, then-editor [[Stephen Pollard]] said "But don't forget who our readership is. They are interested in getting the news about Israel. It's not a biased view. We are presenting one aspect of all the news that is going on. Nobody gets all their news from ''The JC''; we're a complementary news source."<ref name=Bell/> In 2014, he apologised on behalf of the paper for running an advertisement by the [[Disasters Emergency Committee]] appealing for funds for humanitarian relief for [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]]. He said that he and the paper did not support the appeal and were "entirely supportive" of [[Operation Protective Edge]]. He disputed the reported number of civilian casualties and asserted that many were terrorists.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Greenslade |first=Roy |date=15 August 2014 |title=Jewish Chronicle editor apologises for running Gaza appeal advert |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/15/disasters-emergency-committee-gaza |access-date=23 September 2019 |archive-date=23 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923101410/https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/15/disasters-emergency-committee-gaza |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2019, Pollard said, "I think in the last few years there's certainly been a huge need for the journalism that ''The JC'' does in especially looking at the [[Antisemitism in the British Labour Party|anti-Semitism in the Labour party]] and elsewhere" and "there's such a huge need for our proper crusading independent journalism". Kessler Foundation chair Clive Wolman said: "In the end, we and the JC Trust decided that our primary consideration had to be to preserve the editorial independence of ''The JC'', particularly at a time when its journalists are playing such an important role in exposing antisemitism in British politics."<ref name=pg-20190620/> In July 2019, Pollard said that the Jewish community wants "to see [the current Labour Party leadership] removed from any significant role in public life."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollard |first=Stephen |date=19 July 2019 |title=Why does the Board still want to engage with Labour? |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/why-does-the-board-still-want-to-engage-with-labour-1.486680 |access-date=23 September 2019 |quote=Other than the tiny number of members of the Corbynite propaganda group JVL, the entire Jewish community is united in the goal of ensuring that the antisemites who now run the Labour Party are defeated. We may differ on whether that defeat can or should happen only within the Labour Party or at the ballot box, but we want to see them removed from any significant role in public life. |archive-date=7 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807163710/https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/why-does-the-board-still-want-to-engage-with-labour-1.486680 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=September 2024}}

In 2024, an unnamed consortium member characterised ''The Jewish Chronicle''<nowiki/>'s editorial position on Israel as "my country, right or wrong", describing its editor, Wallis Simons, as "behaving like a political activist, not a journalist".<ref name=":3" />

==Reception==
In September 2014, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an editorial alleging the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] (RIBA) voted for a ban on Israelis joining the [[International Union of Architects]] (IUA) and was in effect a "ban on Jews" and thus antisemitic.<ref name="JC Mar 14">{{cite news |title=Architects of hate|url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/leaders/architects-of-hate-1.53300 |access-date=3 October 2023 |work=www.thejc.com |date=20 March 2014 |archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404050024/https://www.thejc.com/comment/leaders/architects-of-hate-1.53300 |url-status=live|quote=The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is now officially antisemitic. On Wednesday, it voted to support a ban on Jews from joining the International Union of Architects. It didn’t put it quite like that, of course. The wording of its motion referred to ‘Israelis’ rather than ‘Jews’. But in singling out the Jewish state for opprobrium, over and above every other nation on earth, and in seeking to ban Jews — sorry, Israelis — from membership, the driving force behind both the BDS campaign and its RIBA conspirators is clear. Jew hatred lives on in RIBA. }}</ref> The RIBA motion had called for the suspension of the [[Israeli Association of United Architects]] over the building of illegal settlements in Palestine.<ref name="AJ 2014">{{cite journal |title=The Israel problem: how a political row tarnished the RIBA in 2014|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/the-israel-problem-how-a-political-row-tarnished-the-riba-in-2014 |journal=[[Architects' Journal]] |access-date=29 September 2023 |language=en |date=12 December 2014 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015822/https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/the-israel-problem-how-a-political-row-tarnished-the-riba-in-2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Press Complaints Commission >> Adjudicated Complaints >> Mr David Mond|url=http://www.pcc.org.uk/cases/adjudicated.html?article=OTA2OA==&type= |access-date=17 September 2023 |date=30 October 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030104516/http://www.pcc.org.uk/cases/adjudicated.html?article=OTA2OA==&type= | archive-date=30 October 2020 }}</ref> Following a complaint to the [[Press Complaints Commission]], the ''Chronicle'' published a letter of response from David Mond, in which he accused the paper of inspiring "its readers to see antisemitism in every critic" of Israel.<ref name="PressReader.com 2014">{{Cite web |date=12 September 2014 |title=Letter: RIBA's actions do not amount to Jew-hatred|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-jewish-chronicle/20140912/282299613369314|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410201127/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-jewish-chronicle/20140912/282299613369314 |archive-date=10 April 2021 |access-date=7 December 2020 |website=Jewish Chronicle |via=[[PressReader]]}}</ref>

In August 2016, dozens of prominent Jewish activists including [[Miriam Margolyes]], [[Ilan Pappe]] and [[Michael Rosen (author)|Michael Rosen]] signed an open letter censuring the newspaper for what they accused of being "[[McCarthyism|McCarthyite]]" "character assassination" of [[Jeremy Corbyn]] after the paper published "seven key questions" for Corbyn, including on his ties to [[Holocaust deniers]], featuring his referral of the [[Hamas]] and [[Hezbollah]] to as "friends".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dysch |first=Marcus |date=18 August 2015 |title=Anti-Israel activists attack JC for challenging Jeremy Corbyn |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/anti-israel-activists-attack-jc-for-challenging-jeremy-corbyn-1.68162 |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=7 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507042644/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/anti-israel-activists-attack-jc-for-challenging-jeremy-corbyn-1.68162 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2019, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an article by [[Melanie Phillips]], asserting that [[Islamophobia]] was a bogus term to provide cover for antisemites. The [[Board of Deputies of British Jews]] described its publication as an "error". Editor Stephen Pollard acknowledged that "A number of people within the Jewish community, and friends of the community, have expressed their dismay – and anger – at its content."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=17 December 2019 |title='Islamophobia a bogus label': Jewish Chronicle under fire over article |newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/dec/17/islamophobia-a-bogus-label-jewish-chronicle-under-fire-over-story |access-date=18 December 2019 |archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217232908/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/dec/17/islamophobia-a-bogus-label-jewish-chronicle-under-fire-over-story |url-status=live }}</ref>

When ''The Jewish Chronicle'' faced closure due to financial problems in April 2020, former [[ANC]] politician and [[Internal resistance to apartheid|anti-apartheid]] activist [[Andrew Feinstein]] alleged: "''The Jewish Chronicle''{{'}}s equating of antisemitism with [[criticism of Israel]] has put back the struggle against real AS & all racism by years." Meanwhile, the freelance journalist Mira Bar-Hillel rejoiced at the paper's potential closure as "the best news of the day", accusing it of being a "pathetic rag".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sloane |first=Wendy |title=The challenges facing the Jewish Chronicle and the role of faith-based media|url=https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/expert-commentary/2020/april/the-end-of-the-jewish-chronicle-and-the-role-of-faith-based-media/ |access-date=22 July 2021 |date=12 April 2020 |website=London Metropolitan University |archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722215251/https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/news/expert-commentary/2020/april/the-end-of-the-jewish-chronicle-and-the-role-of-faith-based-media/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{undue weight inline|date=September 2023}}

In July 2021, a letter was sent to the British press regulatory body [[Independent Press Standards Organisation|IPSO]] requesting a standards investigation into ''The Jewish Chronicle'' due to what the signatories believed to be "systemic" failings. The nine signatories were mostly linked to the Labour party and had complaints about factually inaccurate reporting upheld by the regulator between 2018 and 2021 or, in three instances, had been libelled by the paper. The complainants alleged that the paper's editorial standards were "shockingly low" and stated that "unless standards there improve there will be more victims, while readers will continue to be misled."<ref name="press gazette standards">{{Cite news |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=2021 |title=IPSO faces calls to launch first standards investigation into Jewish Chronicle |publisher=Press Gazette|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-faces-calls-to-be-first-subject-ipso-standards-investigation/ |access-date=6 August 2021 |archive-date=6 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806140926/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-faces-calls-to-be-first-subject-ipso-standards-investigation/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Neilan 2021 IPSO">{{Cite web |last=Rayner |first=Gordon |date=20 August 2021 |title=Why the press watchdog has The Jewish Chronicle in its sights|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/20/press-watchdog-has-jewish-chronicle-sights/ |access-date=16 September 2021 |website=The Telegraph |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916145320/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/08/20/press-watchdog-has-jewish-chronicle-sights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writing in the ''[[Byline Times]]'', [[Brian Cathcart]], Professor of Journalism at [[Kingston University]], argued that IPSO had failed to act on "the collapse of journalism standards at ''The Jewish Chronicle''", which he stated had "been found by the IPSO itself to have breached its code of practice 28 times." He suggested IPSO's failure to act was in part due to the regulator's unwillingness to attract accusations of attempting to silence the paper from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], who benefitted politically from the debate around antisemitism in the Labour Party, in which the paper was a prominent player. He also identified ''The Jewish Chronicle''{{'}}s owner [[Robbie Gibb]] as an obstacle to an IPSO investigation into standards at the paper.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cathcart|first=Brian |date=4 August 2021 |title=Will the Independent Press Standards Organisation Ever Uphold Any Standards? |work=[[Byline Times]]|url=https://bylinetimes.com/2021/08/04/will-the-independent-press-standards-organisation-ever-uphold-any-standards/ |access-date=7 August 2021 |archive-date=7 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807094835/https://bylinetimes.com/2021/08/04/will-the-independent-press-standards-organisation-ever-uphold-any-standards/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2021, members of the [[Wikipedia community]] debated ''The Jewish Chronicle''{{'}}s coverage of left-wing and Muslim groups. It was [[Perennial sources list#Categorizations|categorized]] as a generally reliable source despite concerns about bias.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elia-Shalev |first=Asaf |date=18 June 2024 |title=ADL Faces Wikipedia Ban Over Reliability Concerns on Israel, Antisemitism|url=https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/united-states/adl-faces-wikipedia-ban-over-reliability-concerns-on-israel-antisemitism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619082259/https://www.jta.org/2024/06/18/united-states/adl-faces-wikipedia-ban-over-reliability-concerns-on-israel-antisemitism |archive-date=19 June 2024 |access-date=20 June 2024 |agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]}}</ref>

==Lawsuits and rulings==
In 1968, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an article by Labour MP [[Maurice Edelman]] saying that another Labour MP, [[Christopher Mayhew]], had made antisemitic comments on a television programme. Mayhew sued for libel, arguing that his comments were [[anti-Zionist]], but not antisemitic. He dropped the case after receiving a public apology from both Edelman and the newspaper in the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]].<ref name=djn-19690404>{{cite news|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1969.04.04.001/18 |title=London Jewish Chronicle Apologizes for Accusing MP of Anti-Semitism |page=18 |newspaper=The Detroit Jewish News |date=4 April 1969 |access-date=29 July 2022 |archive-date=29 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729103823/https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1969.04.04.001/18 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Libel action: Christopher Mayhew versus 'The Jewish Chronicle' and Maurice Edelman, 1967-1979 |publisher=Warwick University |url=https://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/EDE/3/6 |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902183921/https://mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk/records/EDE/3/6 |url-status=live }}</ref> A complaint by Mayhew to the [[Press Council (UK)|Press Council]] in April 1971, about the editing of a published letter to the editor, was denied.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kochan |first1=Lionel |last2=Kochan |first2=Miriam |year=1971 |title=Great Britain|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23605320 |journal=The American Jewish Year Book |volume=72 |pages=314–339 |jstor=23605320 |access-date=7 December 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404050023/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23605320 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2009, an activist for the [[International Solidarity Movement]] (an organisation which campaigns for Palestinian rights) accepted £30,000 damages and an apology from the paper over a letter it had published claiming that he had harboured two suicide bombers.<ref name="c201">{{cite web | last=Amos | first=Owen | title=Activist Raphael Cohen in Jewish Chronicle libel win | website=[[Press Gazette]] | date=3 April 2009 | url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/activist-raphael-cohen-in-jewish-chronicle-libel-win/ | access-date=3 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Luft |first=Oliver |date=3 April 2009 |title=Jewish Chronicle pays £30,000 libel damages to peace activist |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/03/jewish-chronicle-libel-damages-peace-activist-raphael-cohen |access-date=23 September 2019 |archive-date=23 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923104645/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/apr/03/jewish-chronicle-libel-damages-peace-activist-raphael-cohen |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2017, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an adjudication by the [[Independent Press Standards Organisation]] (IPSO) as a result of a court report that the newspaper had published. The regulator considered the article had breached clause 9 the Editors' Code of Practice, which relates to the reporting of crime. IPSO ruled that the JC had published details of the family members of the defendant without valid justification.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ruling: A man v The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=01745-17 |website=www.ipso.co.uk |access-date=27 September 2023 |date=10 August 2017 |archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927083620/https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=01745-17 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ipso upholds complaint against JC court report |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/news/ipso-upholds-complaint-against-jc-court-report-1.442802 |access-date=27 September 2023 |work=www.thejc.com |date=11 August 2017 |archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927083620/https://www.thejc.com/news/news/ipso-upholds-complaint-against-jc-court-report-1.442802 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=October 2024}}

In August 2019, the British charity [[Interpal|Palestinian Relief and Development Fund]] (Interpal) received an apology, damages of £50,000 and legal costs after ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published "false and defamatory allegations", implying that it had links to terrorist activity.<ref name="pg-20190903">{{Cite news |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=3 September 2019 |title=Jewish Chronicle pays out £50,000 and apologises for wrongly linking charity to terror group |work=Press Gazette|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-pays-out-50000-and-apologises-for-wrongly-linking-charity-to-terror-group/ |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-date=7 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007033048/https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-pays-out-50000-and-apologises-for-wrongly-linking-charity-to-terror-group/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 23 August, the paper published a full apology, together with an article by [[Ibrahim Hewitt]], chair of trustees of Interpal.<ref name="jc-20190823a">{{Cite news |date=23 August 2019 |title=The Trustees of Interpal — Apology |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/the-trustees-of-interpal-apology-1.487792 |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118101852/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/the-trustees-of-interpal-apology-1.487792 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="jc-20190823b">{{Cite news |last=Hewitt |first=Ibrahim |date=23 August 2019 |title=Interpal provides humanitarian aid to people in desperate need; no more, no less |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/comment/opinion/interpal-provides-humanitarian-aid-to-people-in-desperate-need-no-more-no-less-1.487800 |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210180020/https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/interpal-provides-humanitarian-aid-to-people-in-desperate-need-no-more-no-less-ngzz67al |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2019, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published a ruling by IPSO that it had breached the Editors' Code of Practice in relation to claims in four articles about a Labour Party member published in early 2019. IPSO also expressed significant concerns about the newspaper's failure to answer IPSO's questions and said it considered that the publication's conduct during the investigation was not appropriate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 November 2019 |title=IPSO upholds Labour activist's accuracy complaint against JC |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/ipso-upholds-labour-activist-s-accuracy-complaint-against-jc-1.493698 |access-date=29 November 2019|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129131603/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/ipso-upholds-labour-activist-s-accuracy-complaint-against-jc-1.493698 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 2020, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' acknowledged that they had made untrue allegations, for which they apologised, and agreed to pay damages and legal costs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 February 2020 |title=Audrey White: An apology |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/audrey-white-an-apology-1.497010 |access-date=22 February 2020 |archive-date=22 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222131935/https://www.thejc.com/audrey-white-an-apology-1.497010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruling: White v The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=01740-19 |access-date=19 March 2021 |website=www.ipso.co.uk |archive-date=26 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426200456/https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=01740-19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=pg-20191202>{{cite news|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/jewish-chronicle-rapped-ipso-lack-of-evidence-claims-labour-activist/ |title=Jewish Chronicle rapped by IPSO over lack of evidence for claims about Labour activist |last=Mayhew |first=Freddy |newspaper=Press Gazette |url-access=limited |date=2 December 2019 |access-date=23 July 2025}}</ref>

In September 2020, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an apology to a councillor about whom the newspaper had printed numerous allegations. The newspaper asserted that the councillor was involved in inviting an activist, who it deemed to be antisemitic, to a Labour Party event; that the councillor ignored "antisemitic statements" made by a fellow activist; and that the councillor had "launched a vicious protest against [[Luciana Berger]] in terms suggestive of antisemitism" and had tried to "improperly interfere with a democratic vote at a regional Labour Party meeting".<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 September 2020 |title='Nada Al-Sanjari — apology |work=The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/nada-al-sanjari-apology-1.507008 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009125643/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/nada-al-sanjari-apology-1.507008 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition to the apology, ''The Jewish Chronicle'', its editor Stephen Pollard, and senior reporter Lee Harpin paid substantial{{Quantify|date=November 2023}} libel damages and the legal costs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 October 2020 |title=Jewish Chronicle, Stephen Pollard and Lee Harpin apologise and pay substantial libel damages to Nada alSanjari |url=https://www.carter-ruck.com/images/uploads/documents/Al-Sanjari_Press_Release.pdf |website=www.carter-ruck.com/ |publisher=Carter Ruck |access-date=10 October 2020 |archive-date=10 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010220221/https://www.carter-ruck.com/images/uploads/documents/Al-Sanjari_Press_Release.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pg-20201020">{{Cite news |date=20 October 2020 |title=Jewish Chronicle pays damages over claims councillor invited 'antisemitic' activist to event |work=Press Gazette |agency=Press Association|url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-pays-damages-over-claims-councillor-invited-anti-semitic-activist-to-event/ |access-date=10 December 2020 |archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205085100/https://pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-chronicle-pays-damages-over-claims-councillor-invited-anti-semitic-activist-to-event/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2021, ''The Jewish Chronicle'' printed an article about political activist and journalist [[Marc Wadsworth]] which stated that he was involved in a "conspiracy to intimidate, threaten or harass Jewish activists into silence" in an online meeting of the Labour in Exile Network. In reality Wadsworth had not attended the meeting, had issued no such threats and was not a member of the Labour in Exile Network. The newspaper admitted the story was false in all respects,<ref name="Carter Ruck MW">{{cite web |title=Marc Wadsworth secures full apologies and substantial libel damages against the Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.carter-ruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Marc_Wadsworth-Press_Release_22.07.2021.pdf |website=carter-ruck.com |publisher=Carter Ruck |access-date=16 September 2023 |date=22 July 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119143854/https://www.carter-ruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Marc_Wadsworth-Press_Release_22.07.2021.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> issued an apology,<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 May 2021 |access-date=17 December 2021 |title=Apology: Marc Wadsworth |work=The Jewish Chronicle |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/apology-marc-wadsworth-1.517269 |archive-date=5 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105184743/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/apology-marc-wadsworth-1.517269 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Chambers 21" /> and agreed to pay substantial damages and legal costs.<ref name="Carter Ruck MW Court">{{cite web |title=Statement in Open Court. Marc Wadsworth v Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.carter-ruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Marc_Wadsworth_Statement_in_Open_-Court.pdf |website=carter-ruck.com |publisher=Carter Ruck |access-date=16 September 2023 |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019152015/https://www.carter-ruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Marc_Wadsworth_Statement_in_Open_-Court.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The presiding judge stated "This was a serious mistake for the Jewish Chronicle to have made."<ref name="PG 5 Jan 22">{{cite news |last1=Tobitt |first1=Charlotte |title=IPSO declines call to launch first standards investigation into Jewish Chronicle |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/jewish-chronicle-faces-calls-to-be-first-subject-ipso-standards-investigation/ |access-date=16 September 2023 |work=Press Gazette |date=5 January 2022 |archive-date=10 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210180026/https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/jewish-chronicle-faces-calls-to-be-first-subject-ipso-standards-investigation/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Following the libel verdict, the ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]'' printed an extract from Wadsworth's statement, in which he said he was "deeply distressed that ''The Jewish Chronicle'' did not check its facts or contact me before its article was written."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sagir |first=Ceren |title=Marc Wadsworth wins libel case against Jewish Chronicle |date=2 July 2023 |work=[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/marc-wadsworth-wins-libel-case-against-jewish-chronicle |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722171626/https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/marc-wadsworth-wins-libel-case-against-jewish-chronicle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Carter Ruck MW" /><ref name="Chambers 21">{{cite web |title=Marc Wadsworth secures apologies and substantial libel damages over false "intimidation" allegations. Press Release. Chambers and Partners |url=https://chambers.com/articles/marc-wadsworth-secures-apologies-and-substantial-libel-damages-over-false-intimidation-allegations |website=chambers.com |access-date=16 September 2023 |language=en |date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015822/https://chambers.com/articles/marc-wadsworth-secures-apologies-and-substantial-libel-damages-over-false-intimidation-allegations |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|only primary and unreliable sources currently used|date=October 2024}}

In August 2021 [[The Daily Telegraph|''The Telegraph'']] said that eight complaints to IPSO about the paper had been upheld, two were not upheld, and two were resolved through mediation in the preceding three years,<ref name="Neilan 2021 IPSO"/> while [[Brian Cathcart]], for the ''Byline Times'', said the paper had 33 breaches of the Editors Code within a similar timeframe.<ref name="BC July 23">{{cite news |last1=Cathcart |first1=Brian |title='Unacceptable' Jewish Chronicle Puts Sham Press Watchdog IPSO on the Spot|url=https://bylinetimes.com/2023/07/31/unacceptable-jewish-chronicle-puts-sham-press-watchdog-ipso-on-the-spot/ |work=Byline Times |date=31 July 2023 |access-date=1 October 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015823/https://bylinetimes.com/2023/07/31/unacceptable-jewish-chronicle-puts-sham-press-watchdog-ipso-on-the-spot/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2022 ''The Jewish Chronicle'' published an opinion column by [[Zoe Strimpel]] that included a statement that "the Islamic Republic [of Iran] has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel and Jews off the face of the Earth". In April 2023 IPSO ruled that this was inaccurate, and hence breached Clause 1 of the Editors' Code of Practice. IPSO ordered ''The JC'' to publish a correction, equal in prominence to the original column.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=12610-22 |title=Bunglawala v The Jewish Chronicle |publisher=IPSO |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=6 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806205330/https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=12610-22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PG Maher Apr 23">{{cite news |last1=Maher |first1=Bron |title=Jewish Chronicle rapped over claim Iran vowed to 'wipe Jews off face of Earth'|url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/newspaper-corrections-media-mistakes-errors-legal/jewish-chronicle-ipso-iran/ |access-date=16 September 2023 |work=Press Gazette |date=27 April 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015822/https://pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/newspaper-corrections-media-mistakes-errors-legal/jewish-chronicle-ipso-iran/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2023, IPSO upheld a complaint on behalf of Rabbi [[Yisroel Dovid Weiss]] about whom ''The Jewish Chronicle'' twice (online and in print) wrote a claim of [[Holocaust denial]]. The claim had initially been made by [[Associated Press]] but was retracted in 2007. ''The Jewish Chronicle'' knew this in advance of publication.<ref name="JC Weiss">{{cite news |title=Ipso upholds complaint over reporting of rabbi's remarks|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/news/ipso-upholds-complaint-over-reporting-of-rabbi%27s-remarks-6ESWEDNgdGwXf5FlOrVnyO |access-date=22 September 2023 |work=www.thejc.com |date=5 May 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015821/https://www.thejc.com/news/news/ipso-upholds-complaint-over-reporting-of-rabbi%27s-remarks-6ESWEDNgdGwXf5FlOrVnyO |url-status=live }}</ref> IPSO upheld complaints under Accuracy Clause 1; they considered the newspaper's behaviour "unacceptable" and reported their "significant concerns" to IPSO's Standards department.<ref name="IPSO 0423">{{cite web |title=Ruling: Gregson and Weiss v The Jewish Chronicle|url=https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=11788-22 |website=www.ipso.co.uk |access-date=22 September 2023 |date=6 April 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015823/https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=11788-22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PG 25 Aug">{{cite news |last1=Tobitt |first1=Charlotte |title=Jewish Chronicle 'will never be cowed by attempts to bully us' as IPSO responds to call for standards investigation |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/jewish-chronicle-ipso-standards/ |work=Press Gazette |date=25 August 2023 |access-date=22 September 2023 |archive-date=3 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003015822/https://pressgazette.co.uk/media_law/jewish-chronicle-ipso-standards/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

IPSO's 2023 annual statement recorded that ''The Jewish Chronicle'' had the second equal most breaches of its Editors' Code by all newspapers that year, with four breaches, one less than ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.<ref name=pg-20240828>{{cite news |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/ipso-annual-report-2023-daily-telegraph-mail-online/ |title=Daily Telegraph tops the table for most Editors' Code breaches in 2023 |last=Maher |first=Bron |newspaper=Press Gazette |date=28 August 2024 |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref>

==Chief editors==
* Rabbi David Mendola and [[Moses Angel]] (co-founders and editor 1841–1844)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bookstamp of David Meldola · WUSTL Digital Gateway Image Collections & Exhibitions |url=http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/brisman/item/8257 |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=omeka.wustl.edu}}</ref><ref name="jewishencyclopedia.com">{{Cite web |title=JEWISH CHRONICLE, THE - JewishEncyclopedia.com|url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8630-jewish-chronicle-the |access-date=29 February 2024 |website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref>
* Joseph Mitchell (1844–1854) <ref name="jewishencyclopedia.com"/> 
* [[Marcus Hyman Bresslau]] (1854–1855)<ref name="jewishencyclopedia.com"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Cesarani |first=David |date=1990 |title=The importance of being editor: "The Jewish Chronicle", 1841—1991|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29779888 |journal=Jewish Historical Studies |volume=32 |pages=259–278 |jstor=29779888 |issn=0962-9696}}</ref>
* [[Abraham Benisch]] (1855–1869)<ref name="jewishencyclopedia.com"/>
* Michael Henry (1869–1875)<ref name="jewishencyclopedia.com"/>
* Abraham Benisch  (1875–1878)
* [[Asher Isaac Myers]] (1878–1902)<ref name=":0" />
* Morris Duparc (1902–1907)<ref name=":0" />
* [[L. J. Greenberg|Leopold Greenberg]] (1907&ndash;1931)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bh.org.il/names/POW/Greenberg.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019215133/http://www.bh.org.il/names/POW/Greenberg.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 October 2008 |title=Leopold Jacob Greenberg (1861–1931), journalist and Zionist |publisher=The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot |access-date=3 April 2008 }}</ref>
* Jack Rich (1931–1935)<ref name=":0" />
*[[Ivan Greenberg]] (1935&ndash;1946)
*[[John Maurice Shaftesley]] (1946&ndash;1958)<ref name="ms230">{{cite web |title=MS 230 Papers of J.M.Shaftesley|url=https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archives/cataloguedatabases/webguidemss230.page |publisher=Southampton University Library |access-date=24 July 2018 |archive-date=24 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724214023/https://www.southampton.ac.uk/archives/cataloguedatabases/webguidemss230.page |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="palgrave">{{cite book |last1=Rubinstein |first1=William D. |title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781403939104 |page=897 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJc8afOZV0QC&q=john+maurice+shaftesley&pg=PA897 |chapter=Shaftesley, John Maurice}}</ref>
* [[William Frankel]] (1958&ndash;1977)<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=John|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/william-frankel-fearless-jewish-chronicle-editor-855382.html|title=William Frankel: Fearless 'Jewish Chronicle' editor|work=[[The Independent]]|date=27 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825084432/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/william-frankel-fearless-jewish-chronicle-editor-855382.html|archive-date=25 August 2011|access-date = 14 September 2023}}</ref>
* Geoffrey Paul (1977&ndash;1990)<ref name="TOI Fraser" />
* [[Ned Temko]] (1990&ndash;2005)
* [[David Rowan (journalist)|David Rowan]] (2006&ndash;2008)<ref name="Day">{{Cite news |last=Day |first=Julia |date=21 February 2006 |title=Jewish Chronicle appoints new editor |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/21/pressandpublishing.religion |access-date=22 January 2015 |archive-date=23 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123053830/http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/21/pressandpublishing.religion |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Brook">{{Cite news |last=Brook |first=Stephen |date=30 June 2008 |title=Condé Nast to launch Wired in the UK |work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jun/30/condenast.pressandpublishing |access-date=22 January 2015 |archive-date=30 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830185749/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jun/30/condenast.pressandpublishing |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Jeff Barak]] (managing editor) (2007&ndash;2008)
* [[Stephen Pollard]] (2008&ndash; 2021; editor-at-large 2021&ndash; January 2025)
* [[Jake Wallis Simons]] (2021&ndash; January 2025)
* Daniel Schwammenthal (from January 2025)<ref name="New editor">{{Cite news  |date=29 January 2025 |title=Worlds ''{sic}'' oldest Jewish newspaper appoints new editor |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-839713https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-839713|access-date=29 January 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Hamodia]]''
* [[Jewish Tribune (UK)|''Jewish Tribune'' (UK)]]
* ''[[Jewish News]]''

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Cite book |last=Cesarani |first=David |title=The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo Jewry |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=0-521-43434-3 |location=Cambridge |author-link=David Cesarani}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.thejc.com/}}

{{British Jewry}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Chronicle, The}}
[[Category:1841 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Jewish newspapers published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in London]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1841]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Zionism in the United Kingdom]]