Esteemed readers,
It brings me great pleasure to introduce this issue on the 90th anniversary of The Jerusalem Post’s founding.
Launched in 1932 by eventual Jerusalem mayor Gershon Agron, it was known in those pre-state years as The Palestine Post.
Think about it – almost a century ago, on the precipice of the Holocaust, before many of us were twinkles in our parents’/grandparents’ eyes.
Coming to the Post in 2012: How things have changed
I came to the Post quite by chance in 2012, starting as a copy editor at the old complex in Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood, whose vast corridors were populated by ghosts of papers past – and pigeons. As a nascent olah, I didn’t yet get the full picture of the history of my new workplace and its role in faithfully documenting so many years of Israel’s ups and downs.
Ten years later, I still pinch myself nearly every day that I have the privilege of occupying a place on its masthead and being your editor, working to actualize the Post’s mission of spreading meaningful content far and wide. Together, we’ve shared stories large and small that have shaped the Jewish state, from an intimate look at the Entebbe hijackers to the IDF’s Alpine Unit – soldiers on skis!– from a “happy list” to keep spirits up during corona, to the latest exhibition at the Israel Museum making us all proud.
In this web-fueled world, it’s no small wonder that our English-language newspaper continues to be a bestseller – a paper you can fold, whose pages crinkle as you turn them, that you can take with you on the bus or read cover to cover (we hope!) on Shabbat. And, of course, we have an online presence – as Israel’s most-read English news website.
As Magazine and In Jerusalem editor, I wake up with purpose each morning, feeling I have a role in building the Jewish state word by word, brick by brick. Join me in popping the champagne (or non-alcoholic cider) on this milestone!
Ever your editor,
Erica Schachne