Secondly it has never been a good paper in any conventional sense. It has been the paper of the Jewish establishment and that is why for example in the 1930′s it urged Jews to stay at home at the time of Cable Street rather than confront the fascists. That was the message of the Board of Deputies and the JC fulfilled its function in passing on the message. It did likewise when the National Front reared its head in the 1970′s.

Thirdly to suggest the JC is in the peace camp because it has had critical editorials on e.g. Lieberman is to miss the point. It is because the JC is wedded to Zionism and Israel, right or wrong, that it recognises that having a fascist foreign minister hardly does much for Israel’s reputation (though these days very little does).

Fourthly to suggest that Jonathan Freedland, a weak-kneed liberal Zionist is a counter-weight to Melanie Phillips or indeed Geoffrey Alderman it to grasp at straws. The last dissident columnist the JC had was the late Chaim Bermant. Alderman is a particular disappointment because 20-25 years ago he was a trenchant critic and resigned from the Board of Deputies to whistles and jeers.

Fifthly the appointment of Pollard is a sign of desparation. Its manic pro-Zionism is designed to prove attractive to what the JC imagines to be the heartland of Jewry.

What you won’t find in the JC, under any editor, is consistent coverage of the things that fill the internet, such as the story I posted on an Arab child barred from a nursery because she is not Jewish. If that happened anywhere else in the world the JC would be leading the charge. Routing deference to the IDF means that the JC isn’t, and never has, retained any sense of independence.

It is true that the days of T R Fyvel, an associate of Orwell, are gone. But the appointment of Pollard is an attempt by the JC to survive an increasingly difficult climate for all the print media.

One of the major criticisms of the JC, and this applies to the last 25 years, is that it doesn’t represent or articulate the concerns of secular Jews who don’t go to synagogues. Instead it treats the Board of Deputies as genuine representatives of British Jews when many of its constituent organisations are effectively rotten boroughs. That is why when it does cover the activities of non-Zionist or anti-Zionist groups it does it in the context of a typical tabloid hatchet job, e.g. the front page article a couple of weeks ago on JfJP.
A more pertinent question might be why the Zionist Federation has appointed a clown, one Jonathan Hoffman, as its deputy Chairman.

On the Just Peace UK list, Diana made some suggestions as to what the JC is good for, which I added to, advising her to write a book, ’101 uses for the JC’.

Here are some:
Paper aeroplane, paper hat, wrapping up rubbish, floor protection when decorating, bonfires, loo paper, cat litter tray liner…or put it in the recycle bin and hope that it will be reincarnated as a Guardian /Independent…….

Frank Fisher pointed out that we spend a lot of time reading and talking about a paper which we don’t like, so I admitted that I have a love-hate relationship with it – I love to hate it.

My Aunt – Fearful right-winger turns to it for the endless propaganda on why we are so hard done by and at eternal risk.

My Grandfather – a Jewish elder scanning through the pages to see if any one he vaguely knows has died recently.

My Father – to have an excuse to complain about how the paper is only about North West London and that Kosher food is stupidly overpriced.

My Mother – to lament that my friend’s arre all getting married and having babies yet her children have little and no intention.

My Sister – to prop up her wonky legged chest of draws

Me – With little other choice for reading I turn to it to help with the home cooked meal defecation.

Frankly like most of the print media the JC is going the way of the stone tablet. As with anything past its prime the old fart has gone more right as a 1970s South American junta and a little senile to boot. I say order the meals on wheels and hope we get something in The Will.

I wonder if I ever remember the JC being mildly better than it is now. I mean it’s always been an ignorant and xenophobic rag, from its open racism towards Palestinians today to its open racism towards pogrom refugees.

I’d be happy if Pollard coughed up his mothers milk but then I’d also smile if a lightning bolt hit the JC offices (whilst nobody was in, of course). The JC plays a core role in manufacturing the abyss of Jewish life in Britain today.

We need something entirely new.

In this day and age of online, the JC serves no real purpose other than showcasing hatch, match and dispatch in its pages.

More people probably come to this site and post comments than the JC can ever achieve and that says something.

“it [an e-mail] was sent to all of JFJFP’s signatories of which there are hundreds” – over 1,500, actually

“There was a reaction comment from Jeremy Newmark from the Jewish Leadership Council” – this was, unsurprisingly, distorted and inaccurate, including his description of JfJfP as anti-Israel and anti-Zionist – it is neither.

It’ll be interesting to see how the JC covers the new Board of Deputies President, Vivian Wineman, who can certainly be described as a peace-nik, and who has already been criticised by Jonathan Hoffman in the Jerusalem Post.