Consider this if you would as an open letter to the readers of The Jewish Voice. The time is long due to give your news publication the credit that it merits and the recognition as being among the leading voices of pro-Israel advocacy – and in a way that brings your readers the best in responsible journalism.
Mark Twain was certainly right when he opined, “If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed; If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” His sardonic quip might have had the ring of truth when it was made a century and a half ago, but it is today virtually gospel.
Twain’s witticism echoed the comment made many years before by Thomas Jefferson who suggested that “it is better to be uninformed than misinformed.” Things are much worse today, when we might be forgiven by suggesting that it is better to be the recipient of misinformation than disinformation. How lamentable.
We live in an Orwellian world. A world where the New York Times continues to laughably promote a slogan that it offers “all the news that’s fit to print.” A world where CNN and MSNBC can rightly be accused of mastering the art form once the province of Pravda – where even misinformation took a back seat to disinformation. Amateurs at delivering the news, they are masters at spinning it.
Which brings me to The Jewish Voice, and a long overdue shout out for the publication that you put out every week. I have been closely following the news about Israel for half as long as Israel has been a modern state, and for much of that time, I have witnessed a marked disintegration of support in the media for the only democracy in the Middle East. There is, however, something more insidious and absolutely more troubling, namely the lack of support that Israel has gotten even in the Jewish press. The shift of political currents against Israel is not to be underrated, and the voices against Israel are louder than ever before.
While the support for Israel seems to be waning, the number of publications that stand unafraid to defend the Jewish State seem to be shrinking as well. The Jewish Voice and the outstanding collection of writers and columnists have contributed to making this the best publication available today. The frequent editorial positions taken to defend Israel have also made this the go-to paper of choice.
This much needs to be said as well – the quality of your weekly paper has improved exponentially during the past few years, both in content, the detail and scope of reporting, and even the visual presentation. Finally, The Jewish Voice has become a paper that one looks forward to reading, every week. Based on the consistent editorial position that you present, you deserve the thanks from the pro-Israel community. When judged against the tide of criticism that is directed against Israel, and when compared to the other reading options available, your publication stands tall, and almost without competition. At a time when fewer people are reading newspapers, your stock rightly soars. Kudos.
By: Evan Bloom
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