Yesterday, the 2nd of Kislev, the first edition of the Palestine Post, the forerunner of the Jerusalem Post, was published (December 1, 1932). The Palestine Post was founded by American journalist-turned-newspaper-editor Gershon Agron, who also purchased the Palestine Bulletin (published 1925-1932), and incorporated it into the Palestine Post. Ted Lurie, who became editor when Agron was elected major of Jerusalem in 1955, was part of the newspaper from its inception. The Post was the only English language newspaper in Mandatory Palestine, and was one of the leading newspapers of the Jewish community of the time. Its archives are a major source for modern Jewish history, the history of the Jewish community in Israel, of Israel's struggle for independence, of Middle Eastern history, and of the Holocaust. Until the 2nd Independence Day of the State of Israel, (Apr.21, 1950) it was called The Palestine Post, after which it was renamed the Jerusalem Post.
During its years as The Palestine Post, the publication supported the struggle for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and openly opposed British policy restricting Jewish immigration during the Mandate period. >From 1941, after the end of Vichy rule in Syria, until 1945, it published a Syrian edition. The Post’s outspoken defense of Jewish interests and criticism of the Mandatory government, especially over the White Paper and its consequences, led to frequent disagreements with the British administration, especially the political censorship resulting from this policy. On Feb. 1, 1948, its offices and press were blown up by a bomb planted by a British-Arab conspiracy, as a reprisal against Jewish terrorism. The Post has always given general support to the labor movement, and, after 1948, to the government of Israel, while criticizing them on points of detail, particularly on economic and social policy.
An international weekly edition was launched in 1959, reflecting both Agron's commitment to and recognition that the domestic English-language audience was shrinking. Today, it also has an on-line edition, in English as well as in French. As with other Israeli newspapers, it is published from Sunday to Friday, with no edition appearing on Shabbat or Jewish religious holidays. The paper covers local news of both Jewish and Arab interest, as well as world affairs with special emphasis on developments in the Middle East. Hollinger Inc. of Toronto, the newspaper group controlled by British businessman Conrad Black, bought the Jerusalem Post in 1988.
