In today’s world of fake news, it’s important to keep up to date with relevant Jewish news through reputable and trustworthy news sites. There is an abundance of current affairs sites in English that will allow you to keep informed on all that is happening both in Israel, the Middle East and worldwide Jewry. Here are the top 10 Jewish news sites to follow:
1.YnetNews
Ynet is a subsidiary news outlet of the Yedioth Ahronoth Media Group. Yedioth Ahronoth was a newspaper founded in 1939 and for a long time was respected as the most popular daily newspaper circulation. Ynet was launched in 2000 with its own independent staff creating unique and relevant content. In 2005 YnetNews was launched as the English version of the site, providing relevant and unbiased articles to the international community.
2. Jerusalem Post
Gershon Argon founded this popular news source under the name ‘The Palestinian Post’ in 1932. The name was changed to ‘The Jerusalem Post’ in 1950, 2 years after the declaration of the State of Israel. The leading source of news for English Speaking Jews both in Israel and the Diaspora, the Jerusalem Post continues to consistently prove itself as a holistic news source for issues regarding Israel, the Middle East, and Jewish affairs worldwide. If you want to improve your Hebrew, you can order the Jerusalem Post Ivrit, a Hebrew printed monthly edition that includes a Hebrew-English dictionary underneath each article allowing you to translate and improve your vocabulary while keeping up to date on current affairs.
3. Haaretz
Haaretz, literally translating to ‘the Land’, was first launched in 1918 making it the longest running publication in Israel thus far. Haaretz has both a Hebrew and an English publication, the English being distributed as a weekly insert in The New York Times. There is much controversy surrounding this particular newspaper in regards to its left-wing liberal stance, where it has been accused of too often acting with a political agenda rather than as a reliable news source. The newspaper also has an affiliation to The Marker, which is their separate business and financial news representation.
4. Globes
The Globes is Israel’s Leading business and financial newspaper founded in the 1980’s. The newspaper itself is distributed every evening to over 45,000 Israeli’s with huge popularity in the elite business and financial community. It is also known for it’s magazine publication dedicated to women, ‘Lady Globes’. In 1997 the Globes published its online site with articles that cover the most relevant news on management; investment; technology; law; accounting; and marketing. The English site provides articles that will be most relevant to the English speaking financial and business community.
5. Israel Hayom
Israel Hayom, translated as ‘Israel Today’ was founded in 2007 as a weekday publication that was eventually extended to included weekend publications due to its increasing popularity. The publication claims that it was created with the ambition to provide a non-bias free publication representative of a fair and even political reporting view. Despite this, the news source has faced much controversy as owner Sheldon Adelson’s is accused of showing favoritism to Benjamin Netanyahu’s political agenda, leading the newspaper to be nickname bibiiton: Bibi- the nickname for Benjamin Netanyahu and Iton – the Hebrew word for newspaper. In 2011 the newspaper became available online in English and despite its public disputation is still today considered a reputable source of news for Jews in the Diaspora.
6. Times of Israel
The Times of Israel is a news website based in Jerusalem. Founded in 2012 by UK journalist David Horovitz, the website offers a huge resource of content covering Israel, the Middle East, and Jewish news throughout the Diaspora. The news outlet claims to ‘’not have any political leanings” by providing content that is both fair and representative of a wide range of perspectives. Times of Israel is continuously gaining popularity with an increase from 2 million readers in 2014, to over 3.5 million today.
7. Tablet Magazine
Tablet Magazine is a daily online magazine with articles about Jewish ideas, news and culture. In addition to offering several news pieces a day, there are ongoing updates on its blog, The Scroll. It is the winner of the National Magazine Award and a highly- considered publication. Its coverage leans liberal in all that is culture or lifestyle but has a more conservative, right-wing approach on Israeli politics.
8. I24 News
I24 News is the latest installment in Israeli news sources reaching out to the international community. Having started as a French, Arabic, and English news channel, i24 has recently launched in New York, extending its influences to an even greater worldly audience. This reputable news source provides breaking news updates every hour on the hour as well as daily reviews every half hour, keeping you up to date and informed on everything related to Israel, the Middle East and World Wide Jewry. There is also a focus of lifestyle and culture.
9. Forward
Forward was originally a Yiddish newspaper founded in 1897 by a group of 50 Jewish American Socialist and published under the name ‘Forverts’. Though the newspaper was created to cater for immigrants that did not speak English at the time, in 1983 it published an English supplement. As of 2013 the English online publication as well as the weekly English print became the primary distributions known as Forward. The Yiddish print is still distributed bi-weekly and has of late began to gain its popularity back after the revival of the language itself in the student community. The news source boasts balanced commentaries of politics and culture relevant to the American Jewish Community.
10. Israel21c
Israel21c in a nonprofit organization responsible for an online English news publication aimed at identifying all that is relevant in 21st Century Israel. The online news magazine was founded in 2001 during the second intifada as a means of broadening the public perception of Israel and Israeli news representation. With unbiased political news the publication stands to simply provide high quality and trustworthy knowledge in order to promote a more modern and relevant view of Israel and a world Jewry. Israel21c pushes the concept of public distribution of their original content to broaden their reach thus further supporting their ethos to educate the worldwide perspectives of 21st Century Israel.
Each news source provides trustworthy and relevant content to Jews throughout the Diaspora, keeping you informed and connected to Israel and Israeli society and to your Jewish identity. They all have different inclinations, choose the ones that you can best relate to. Or, if you’ve meditated today, choose to read one that counters your natural political leanings to get a different perspective. From recipes of Jewish Food (check out my post on Jewish foods your kids need to know and love if you’re into food), to thoughts on Jewish cultural topics and challenges facing the Jewish Diaspora to news of what’s the latest crazy thing to happen in the world, following these newspapers and magazines is a fundamental way to be in the know.
