The Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, a weekly publication financed by the Zionist Federation of Great Britain, did not appear today on its publication day, because of a conflict between the Federation and the editor of the magazine, Jon Kimche, resulting from disagreement over a report on the unemployment situation in Israel.
In announcing that neither the English nor the French edition of the publication will appear this week, Mr. Kimche said that the sole reason was his refusal “to accept the instituting of a censorship by the Zionist Federation over reports to be published in the two papers.” The board of directors of the company publishing The Jewish Observer is scheduled to meet this evening to discuss the situation. The directors are all members of the executive of the Zionist Federation.
A statement issued today on behalf of the board of directors said: “By agreement with the editor, an editorial board laid down a policy which he undertook to carry out. The board deemed it wrong to publish an article on unemployment in Israel which, in the board’s view, gave an incomplete analysis of the situation. The editor refused to accept the decision of the editorial board, and the directors are now taking legal advice in regard to the situation created.”
(In Jerusalem, both the Israeli Cabinet and the Jewish Agency executive sharply criticized The Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, for attacks, under Mr. Kimche’s name, against the Minister of Justice, in connection with the recent secret trial, conviction and sentencing to one-year prison terms of the editors of the Israeli weekly, “Bul.”)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
