LONDON: Four prominent columnists have resigned from the Jewish Chronicle following allegations that the London-based newspaper published fabricated articles concerning Israel and its conflict with Gaza.

Jonathan Freedland and Hadley Freeman announced their resignations on social media early Sunday. They were joined by fellow columnists David Baddiel and David Aaronovitch.

Freedland criticized the JC for showing only minimal contrition, while Freeman stated that recent events made her continued association with the paper untenable.

A statement from a spokesperson for Baddiel said on Sunday the comedian also had “no plans to write any more columns” for the JC.

The controversy erupted on Friday after the Israel Defense Forces revealed details from an investigation into the JC’s articles, finding some to be untrue.

The JC has since removed the disputed articles and severed ties with Elon Perry, a freelance journalist and former IDF member responsible for several high-profile stories.

One of Perry’s articles, published on Sept. 5, claimed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning to escape to Iran through the Philadelphi Corridor.

The story, purportedly based on leaked intelligence documents, was widely reported and shared by media in Israel, including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son.

However, the IDF later stated it had no knowledge of such documents.

To whoever is interested in such things, I’ve resigned as a columnist from @JewishChron. I’m immensely grateful for all the support I’ve had from the editors during my time there, and enjoyed writing for it enormously. But recent events have made it impossible for me to stay.

— Hadley Freeman (@HadleyFreeman) September 15, 2024

The JC conducted an internal review and concluded that while Perry’s military background was verified, it could not substantiate some of his claims.

Consequently, the JC issued a statement on Friday saying it had removed Perry’s articles from its website and ended its association with him.

“While we understand he did serve in the Israel Defense Forces, we were not satisfied with some of his claims,” it said. “We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr. Perry.”

Freedland, a senior columnist for The Guardian, said on Sunday that he was quitting the JC, which he has contributed to for 26 years, saying the latest scandal “brings great disgrace on the paper.”

On X, he said: “Too often, the JC reads like a partisan, ideological instrument, its judgements political rather than journalistic.”

Freeman, who is also a contributor to The Sunday Times, told BBC Radio 4 on Monday that she and the other resigning columnists “felt there had not been editorial standards” applied to Perry “because this journalist adhered to an ideology that perhaps was similar to that of the editorial board.”

In response, Perry claimed that the JC’s statement was a “huge mistake” and suggested that the criticisms were driven by “jealousy.”

WASHINGTON: Lawyers for TikTok and parent company ByteDance will square off with the Justice Department in a Washington courtroom on Monday over the fate of a law that could ban the short video app used by 170 million Americans as soon as Jan. 19.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments on a legal challenge filed by TikTok and Chinese-parent company ByteDance that seeks an injunction barring the law from taking effect.
TikTok and ByteDance argue the law is unconstitutional and violates Americans’ free speech rights, calling it “a radical departure from this country’s tradition of championing an open Internet.”
Circuit Judges Sri Srinivasan, Neomi Rao and Douglas Ginsburg will consider the legal challenges brought by TikTok and users against the law that gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell or divest TikTok’s US assets or face a ban.
Driven by worries among US lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app, the US Congress passed the law overwhelmingly in April just weeks after it was introduced.
Biden could extend the Jan. 19 deadline by three months if he certifies ByteDance is making significant progress toward a sale.
The hearing could put TikTok’s fate in the middle of the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
Both Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are active on TikTok seeking to court younger voters.
The Justice Department says TikTok under Chinese ownership poses a serious national security threat because of its access to vast personal data of Americans, asserting China can covertly manipulate information that Americans consume via TikTok.
“The serious national-security threat posed by TikTok is real,” the department said.
ByteDance says divestiture is “not possible technologically, commercially, or legally” and without a court ruling will lead to an unprecedented ban.
TikTok and the Justice Department have asked for a ruling by Dec. 6, which could allow the US Supreme Court to consider an appeal before any ban takes effect.
The White House says it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national security grounds, but not a ban on TikTok. Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to ban TikTok in 2020, said recently if elected, he would not allow TikTok to be banned.