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Middle East Monitor ) – How did Britain’s oldest Jewish newspaper end up publishing a story that Israel’s security forces have raised serious doubts about? That’s the question many are asking with the Jewish Chronicle facing intense criticism over what is seen as a glaring example of journalistic malpractice. The paper has been slammed as a conduit for unverified, and potentially fabricated, information, seemingly aligned with the political interests of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.The row erupted earlier this month, when the Jewish Chronicle published an article by Elon Perry. Perry – who is described in his JC bio as a former commando soldier – made sensational claims about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s supposed plan to smuggle hostages out of Gaza.
He backed his wild speculation by asserting that the Jewish Chronicle had been informed of the plot by Israeli “intelligence sources.”
The alleged scheme involved a plot by Sinwar to transport himself, other Hamas leaders, and the remaining Israeli hostages through the contentious Philadelphi Corridor to Sinai, with Iran as the ultimate destination. Perry’s article claimed further that this information was obtained during the interrogation of a captured senior Hamas official and from documents seized on 29 August, coinciding with the recovery of the bodies of six Israeli hostages.
The Jewish Chronicle explicitly linked the unsubstantiated claims to Netanyahu’s stance on the Philadelphi Corridor, a critical 14 kilometre stretch along the Gaza-Egypt border. Despite the fact that no operational tunnel has been found along the Gaza-Egypt border, the Israeli prime minister has obstinately insisted on maintaining an indefinite military presence in the area, even if it means jeopardising a potential ceasefire agreement that could secure the release of hostages. Notably, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant publicly denounced the prioritisation of the Philadelphi Corridor over the lives of hostages, describing it as “a moral disgrace.”
As Netanyahu faced mounting criticism from all quarters – including within Israel and from his closest allies in Washington – the Jewish Chronicle’s article conveniently lent credence to the Israeli premier’s controversial stance. The piece echoed Netanyahu’s assertion during an infamous press conference that abandoning the Philadelphi Corridor would render it impossible to prevent Hamas from smuggling both weapons and hostages.
The striking coincidence between the purported “intelligence” cited by the Jewish Chronicle and Netanyahu’s political position has sparked serious doubts about the authenticity of the information and the underlying motives for the article’s publication. The timing and content of the piece have raised alarming concerns about the integrity of the UK’s longest-running Jewish newspaper.
There are now growing speculations that the Jewish Chronicle may have acted as a conduit for fabricated pro-Netanyahu stories, effectively functioning as a propaganda tool to bolster the Israeli premier’s increasingly isolated position. The article in the JC unravelled under scrutiny as multiple sources, including a detailed report in +972 Magazine, as well as reports from several Israeli media outlets, raised doubts over claims about “Sinwar’s secret plan to smuggle hostages to Iran” and its author Perry.
“Corrupting the Press,” Digital, Dream / Realistic v2 / Clip2Comic, 2024
According to these investigations, just a day after the publication of the Jewish Chronicle article, Israel’s Channel 12 refuted its claims, stating that “all of the relevant sources in the security establishment” were unaware of the supposed “intelligence”. Ynet journalist Ronen Bergman further dismantled the story, quoting four sources from Israel’s intelligence community and the Israeli army’s prisoners and missing persons division, who described the JC’s claims as a “wild fabrication” and “one hundred percent lies.” Even the spokesperson for Israeli occupation forces, Daniel Hagari, officially dismissed the story as baseless.
More alarmingly, it’s reported that the fabrication is not an isolated incident. The Jewish Chronicle’s article appears to be part of a broader pattern of fabricated intelligence stories seemingly designed to bolster Netanyahu’s position. A similar report in Germany’s Bild newspaper, purporting to reveal Hamas’s negotiation strategy from a document allegedly obtained from Sinwar’s computer, was also largely debunked by Israeli military sources.
The fabrication is viewed with such seriousness that the Israeli army has launched an internal investigation into these leaks, suspecting an influence campaign aimed at swaying Israeli public opinion in favour of Netanyahu. The Israeli army is said to be treating the two articles, in the Jewish Chronicle and Bild, as connected, and has opened an internal investigation to try and find the source of the leaks and fabrications.
According to +972 Magazine, the Israeli military suspects that whoever is responsible is seeking to influence Israeli public opinion in favour of Netanyahu, just as mass Israeli protests for a hostage deal threaten to torpedo his attempts to keep the war raging. A military official with knowledge of the army’s investigation is reported to have told Bergman definitively: “This is an influence campaign on … the Israeli public … and we are determined to find the person or entity behind it.”
Adding another layer to this troubling influence campaign, serious questions have been raised about the article’s author, Elon Perry. Investigations by various journalists and media outlets, including Israel’s Channel 13 programme Hazinor, have exposed numerous fabrications in Perry’s bio. Despite claiming 28 years of service in the Golani Brigade, participation in Operation Entebbe, and a professorship at Tel Aviv University, none of these claims could be verified. When confronted, Perry reportedly denied or deflected these fabrications.
Furthermore, tech journalist Simi Spolter found no evidence of Perry’s claimed 25-year journalism career in Israeli media. Apart from recent articles in the Jewish Chronicle, it’s reported that there is no documented history of Perry as a long-standing journalist.
The revelations of the past few days have severely undermined the Jewish Chronicle’s editorial credibility and raise troubling questions about its role in disseminating fabricated stories in amplifying Netanyahu’s propaganda. Whether wittingly or unwittingly, Britain’s oldest Jewish newspaper seems to have become a conduit for false information that serves to justify Netanyahu’s controversial policies, particularly regarding the ongoing negotiations and the continued occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor.
For readers familiar with the Jewish Chronicle’s reporting in recent years, these revelations are unlikely to come as a surprise. The paper is widely viewed as being embedded within the global Islamophobia industry and as one of the leading amplifiers of anti-Palestinian sentiments. It is often regarded as a platform for spreading hate and propaganda, rather than a serious and credible news source.
MEMO contacted the Jewish Chronicle regarding the allegations in this article but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.
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