Haviv Rettig Gur was an
Israeli-
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and the Jewish world correspondent for the Israeli English-language daily
The Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
until June 2010, when he was appointed
spokesmanA spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
of the Jewish Agency. He changed his last name from Rettig to Gur after getting married in March 2008.
According to the website of the
LimmudLimmud is a British-Jewish educational charity which produces a large annual winter conference and several other events around the year on the theme of Jewish learning...
Conference, where he was a speaker in December 2007, Gur "covers organised Jewish communities worldwide on issues including
demographicsDemographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
, identity,
anti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, education and communal politics... He dealt with Israel's contentious education budget and Israel-
NATO relations. He was the Posts chief correspondent to the [annual Israeli security-related]
Herzliya ConferenceThe Herzliya Conference, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, is Israel's center stage for the articulation of national policy by its most prominent leaders, including the Israeli President, the Prime Minister, the IDF Chief of General Staff, and the leading contenders for high...
."
He was born on April 4, 1981, in
Jerusalem to American-born parents. He lived in the United States from 1989 to 1999, returning to Israel in 1999 to serve in the
Israel Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
as a combat medic. Upon completing military service, Gur studied history and Jewish thought at the
Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
.
Gur has worked at The Jerusalem Post since June 2005. He lives in Tel Aviv.
Gur's reporting tends to focus on trends in Jewish identity, whether European, American or Israeli. He opines regularly on what he sees as the growing divide between Israeli Jewish identity and American Jewish identity. Together, these two communities constitute some 80% of world Jewry, he writes, and their basic identities as Jews are increasingly being constructed in radically different ways.
He writes:
In August, 2009, the Israeli government-run Masa company produced an advertisement that claimed that one-half of Diaspora Jews are assimilating and becoming "lost to us." This drew a firestorm of criticism from overseas, and led Gur to comment that the disagreement reflected this different way of constructing Jewish identity.
In March, 2009, Gur was contacted by a man claiming to be
David WeissIn March 2009, Haviv Rettig Gur was contacted by a man claiming to be David Weiss, captain in the Norwegian military. Weiss was quoted in a news story written by Gur in The Jerusalem Post in which Norwegian Jews said they experienced tensions related to their Jewishness, mostly from Muslim...
, captain in the Norwegian military. Weiss was quoted in a news story written by Gur in which Norwegian Jews said they experienced tensions related to their Jewishness, mostly from Muslim immigrants and through anti-Israel discourse in the media.
Contrary to the claims of some Norwegian journalists, Gur did not accuse Norwegian Minister of Finance
Kristin HalvorsenKristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
of chanting "Death to Jews" in a demonstration. His story was correcting a previous, inaccurate report written by another journalist that seemed to suggest this.
In response to Norwegian journalists' inquiries, the Norwegian military claimed that no "Captain David Weiss" existed in its ranks, a claim that led the political editor of the major Norwegian daily
AftenpostenAftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
,
Harald StanghelleHarald Stanghelle is a Norwegian newspaper editor.He was born in Vaksdal. His first role was that of editor of Vaksdalsnytt at the age of 19. He was then a journalist in Arbeiderbladet from 1982 to 1991, and in Aftenposten from 1991...
, to accuse the military of a cover-up of Weiss' identity.
The next day, on April 5, 2009, the rival daily
DagbladetDagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
confirmed that "David Weiss" was the faked identity of a 45-year-old Oslo resident who had never served in the military. According to Dagbladet, he had fooled The Jerusalem Post, the BBC and several major Norwegian papers.
Gur's version of the events is related
here.
Articles
- Jewish groups skeptical over Annapolis Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2008
- A whole new, wikified Jewish world? Jerusalem Post, December 31, 2007
- Jewish organizations want to bring Israel studies to US campuses Jerusalem Post, May 2, 2007
- 'If the Torah is not for everyone, it is not for anyone' Meimad website, September 7, 2006
- Masa is clueless, but it isn't the only one Jerusalem Post, September 7, 2009
- Norway Jews still tell of tolerance The Jerusalem Post, March 31, 2009
- Stanghelle thinks the military is bluffing text in Norwegian, Dagbladet, April 4, 2009
- Here is "Agent David Weiss" exposed text in Norwegian, Dagbladet, April 5, 2009
See also
- The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
- David Horovitz
David Horovitz is an Israeli journalist, author and speaker, formerly the Editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.-Biography:...
- Herb Keinon
Herb Keinon is a long-time journalist and columnist for The Jerusalem Post. Keinon is originally from Denver, has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the...
- Khaled Abu Toameh
Khaled Abu Toameh is a Israeli Arab journalist and documentary filmmaker. Abu Toameh is the West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and U.S. News and World Report, and has been the Palestinian affairs producer for NBC News since 1988...
- David Weiss (fictional person)
In March 2009, Haviv Rettig Gur was contacted by a man claiming to be David Weiss, captain in the Norwegian military. Weiss was quoted in a news story written by Gur in The Jerusalem Post in which Norwegian Jews said they experienced tensions related to their Jewishness, mostly from Muslim...