Jerusalem Post Names Ex-Naftali Bennett Aide as New Editor-in-Chief

Image by Jerusalem Post

By Josefin Dolsten April 13, 2016

The Jerusalem Post announced Wednesday that Yaakov Katz, an advisor to right-wing Education Minister Naftali Bennett, will take over as editor-in-chief, replacing veteran editor Steven Linde.

Katz is originally from Chicago and was the military correspondent at the Jerusalem Post from 2003 to 2013, when he left to work as foreign policy advisor for Bennett. He will start the new position in May.

Bennett is a member of the right-wing Jewish Home party and has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.

The reasons for the change in leadership were not clear.

“I plan to continue and build on the Jerusalem Post’s distinguished record as a cutting-edge newspaper in Israel and throughout the Jewish world,” Katz told the Forward.

On Twitter, Katz called his new appointment “an honor and privilege,” saying the Jerusalem Post was “a pillar of journalistic integrity & distinction.”

It is an honor and privilege to replace the amazing @stevelinde and head @Jerusalem_Post, a pillar of journalistic integrity & distinction.

— Yaakov Katz (@yaakovkatz) April 13, 2016

Linde, who was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa, was appointed editor-in-chief of the Israeli newspaper in 2011, where he had previously served in various roles for 14 years.

The previous editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, David Horovitz, left the publication in 2011 and went on to found competitor site Times of Israel, which rapidly found success in the English-language Israeli media.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO