After Adolph Ochs purchased The New York Times in 1896, Zionism and the eventual reality of the State of Israel were framed within his guiding principle, embraced by his Sulzberger family successor, that Judaism is a religion and not a national identity. Apprehensive lest the loyalty of American Jews to the United States be undermined by the existence of a Jewish state, they embraced an anti-Zionist critique that remained embedded in its editorials, on the Opinion page and in its news coverage. Through the examination of evidence drawn from its own pages, this book analyzes how all the news "fit to print" became news that fit the Times' discomfort with the idea, and since 1948 the reality, of a thriving democratic Jewish state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people.

About the Author

Jerold S. Auerbach is author of eleven books, including a New York Times Noteworthy Book (1976), and articles in Harper's, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, and The New York Times. A Guggenheim Fellow and Fulbright Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, he is Professor Emeritus of History at Wellesley College.

Reviews

"Auerbach subjects the New York Times to a meticulously researched analysis of its attitude over the years 1896 to 2016 towards Zionism and Israel. ... Print to Fit leads the reader through Israel's story along an unfamiliar route. The New York Times is one of the world's leading newspapers. It is regarded as a 'journal of record.' For more than 120 years it has been shaping American opinion. Jerold S Auerbach argues convincingly that, as far as Zionism and Israel are concerned, the paper has consistently been far from objective in its editorial policy, has fallen short of its own high standards, and has consequently failed in its journalistic obligations to the public." -Neville Teller, The Jerusalem Report

-- Neville Teller * The Jerusalem Report *

"Jerold Auerbach's archly titled new study Print to Fit: The New York Times, Zionism and Israel, 1896-2016 is a well-researched and, for the most part, damning brief of the Times's news coverage and editorial attitudes toward Zionism and Israel for over a century. ... Print to Fit was written well before the Jew-dog cartoon scandal, but it does answer the question about it with which this review began: How could such an image make it to the pages of an edition of the New York Times?" -Deborah E. Lipstadt, the Jewish Review of Books

* Jewish Review of Books *

"There is no denying the basic truth of Jerold Auerbach's book, which is that the Times has had a fundamental antagonism to Zionism and to Israel from its beginning until this day. His title says it all: instead of printing all the news that is fit to print-as it says so proudly on its front page every day-the Times has often printed the news that fits its ideology." -Jack Reimer, The Jewish Advocate

Book Information
ISBN 9781618118981
Author Jerold S. Auerbach
Format Paperback
Page Count 322
Imprint Academic Studies Press
Publisher Academic Studies Press