GAZA, (PIC)
Britain’s Jewish Chronicle (JC) fired Israeli freelance writer Elon Perry after concluding that he had fabricated stories on the war against the Gaza Strip.
According to The Guardian newspaper’s website, Britain’s oldest Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Chronicle, has recently removed “a series of sensational articles relating to the Gaza war after claims that the material was fabricated by Perry who had also misrepresented his résumé.”
After an investigation last week into the author, Elon Perry, JC put out a brief announcement on Friday night, saying it was unsatisfied with the articles supplied by the journalist.
“The Jewish Chronicle has concluded a thorough investigation into freelance journalist Elon Perry, which commenced after allegations were made about aspects of his record,” the newspaper said.
“While we understand he did serve in the Israel defense forces, we were not satisfied with some of his claims. We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr. Perry.”
“The Jewish Chronicle maintains the highest journalistic standards in a highly contested information landscape and we deeply regret the chain of events that led to this point. We apologize to our loyal readers and have reviewed our internal processes so that this will not be repeated,” according to the announcement.
“Founded in 1841, the JC – as it is familiarly known – has long been a respected institution in British Jewish life, attracting prominent Jewish journalists and writers to contribute. But the recent events have caused consternation about the direction of the paper as it has drifted further right under its editor, Jake Wallis Simons, and amid question over who owns it,” The Guardian said on Saturday.
One of Perry’s articles, which were published by JC, claimed the discovery of a document from Gaza, allegedly detailing Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar’s plans to escape with Israeli captives through the border with Egypt.
However, the Israeli army said that it had no knowledge of such a document and several Israeli news outlets started to question Perry’s identity and professional background.
The left-wing +972 Magazine belied Perry’s claims of having served as a commando during Operation Entebbe and being a professor at Tel Aviv University for 15 years.
For its part, Israel’s Channel 13 reported that important details about Perry’s biography were complete fiction.
According to the channel, this journalist was not a commando fighter in the 1976 Entebbe raid, he was not a Tel Aviv University professor, he never served as an undercover combatant in the occupied Palestinian territories, and he was not a journalist for 25 years. His real name, its report said, is also not Elon Perry but Eli Yifrah.
In recent months, The Guardian says, the Hebrew media suggested that such stories, which were published by JC and placed in European newspapers, are based on fake or misrepresented intelligence, planted as part of an effort to support Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s negotiating position over Gaza.
