Difference between revisions of "Ivan Greenberg"
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== Early life and journalism == | == Early life and journalism == | ||
| − | Greenberg was the youngest son of [[Leopold Greenberg]] and his first wife, Marion Gates, and was born and educated in London. He served in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War and was wounded on the Western Front. After demobilisation he travelled as a journalist, working on newspapers in South Africa and Australasia, and joined the staff of ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'' as assistant editor in 1925.<ref name="Ces158" /> The [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] gave the year as 1926; the board's minutes, as quoted by Cesarani, recorded eleven years as assistant editor followed by ten as editor.<ref name="JTA1966">[https://www.jta.org/archive/ivan-greenberg-former-editor-of-london-jewish-chronicle-dead Ivan Greenberg, Former Editor of London Jewish Chronicle, Dead] Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 15 March 1966, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="Ces191">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 190–191.</ref> | + | Greenberg was the youngest son of [[Leopold Greenberg]] and his first wife, Marion Gates, and was born and educated in London. Cesarani gives his dates as 1896–1966; the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's obituary gave his age at death as 69, and the 1949 centenary history says he joined the staff in 1925 'in his twenty-eighth year', which would put his birth in 1897 or 1898.<ref name="Ces158" /><ref name="JTA1966" /><ref name="JC49p169">''The Jewish Chronicle 1841–1941: A Century of Newspaper History'' (London, 1949), p. 169.</ref> He served in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War and was wounded on the Western Front. After demobilisation he travelled as a journalist, working on newspapers in South Africa and Australasia, and joined the staff of ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'' as assistant editor in 1925.<ref name="Ces158" /> The [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] gave the year as 1926; the board's minutes, as quoted by Cesarani, recorded eleven years as assistant editor followed by ten as editor.<ref name="JTA1966">[https://www.jta.org/archive/ivan-greenberg-former-editor-of-london-jewish-chronicle-dead Ivan Greenberg, Former Editor of London Jewish Chronicle, Dead] Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 15 March 1966, accessed 10 November 2026.</ref><ref name="Ces191">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 190–191.</ref> |
== The Jewish Chronicle == | == The Jewish Chronicle == | ||
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=== Dismissal, 1946 === | === Dismissal, 1946 === | ||
| − | In January 1946 [[Neville Laski]] told [[David Kessler]] that he and the director [[Leonard Stein]] felt Greenberg's editorials and "news settings" had justified "grave criticism". On 24 May 1946 a special board meeting, chaired by [[Michel Oppenheimer]], told Greenberg that the paper's Palestine policy "tended too far in the direction of Revisionism" and that the paper "had ceased to be an independent forum"; the board set out its policy as "Moderate Zionist in respect to Palestine / Orthodox as regards the Jewish religion / Strictly loyal in relation to HMG". On 2 July 1946 Stein and Kessler outvoted Oppenheimer, and Greenberg's appointment was ended from 5 July; he was awarded £2,000 for loss of office.<ref name="Ces189b">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 189–191.</ref> [[John Shaftesley]] became acting editor.<ref name="Ces191" /> The issue of 5 July 1946 carried "A Personal Note" signed by Greenberg, saying that "a growing divergence has manifested itself between the views my conscience compels me to hold and those held, equally conscientiously, by the Board of Directors", and a statement by the directors.<ref name="Ces191" /> In September and October 1946 he negotiated with Eliezer Hoofien of the Anglo-Palestine Bank in Tel Aviv about buying the shares held by [[Mortimer Epstein]].<ref name="Ces192">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 192.</ref> The Jerusalem correspondent, Julian Meltzer, resigned in solidarity.<ref name="Ces191" /> | + | In January 1946 [[Neville Laski]] told [[David Kessler]] that he and the director [[Leonard Stein (born 1887)|Leonard Stein]] felt Greenberg's editorials and "news settings" had justified "grave criticism". On 24 May 1946 a special board meeting, chaired by [[Michel Oppenheimer]], told Greenberg that the paper's Palestine policy "tended too far in the direction of Revisionism" and that the paper "had ceased to be an independent forum"; the board set out its policy as "Moderate Zionist in respect to Palestine / Orthodox as regards the Jewish religion / Strictly loyal in relation to HMG". On 2 July 1946 Stein and Kessler outvoted Oppenheimer, and Greenberg's appointment was ended from 5 July; he was awarded £2,000 for loss of office.<ref name="Ces189b">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 189–191.</ref> [[John Shaftesley]] became acting editor.<ref name="Ces191" /> The issue of 5 July 1946 carried "A Personal Note" signed by Greenberg, saying that "a growing divergence has manifested itself between the views my conscience compels me to hold and those held, equally conscientiously, by the Board of Directors", and a statement by the directors.<ref name="Ces191" /> In September and October 1946 he negotiated with Eliezer Hoofien of the Anglo-Palestine Bank in Tel Aviv about buying the shares held by [[Mortimer Epstein]].<ref name="Ces192">David Cesarani, ''The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 192.</ref> The Jerusalem correspondent, Julian Meltzer, resigned in solidarity.<ref name="Ces191" /> |
== Later life and death == | == Later life and death == | ||
Revision as of 15:42, 11 November 2026
British journalist and Revisionist Zionist; editor of The Jewish Chronicle from 1936 until his dismissal in 1946
| Ivan Greenberg
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Ivan M. Greenberg, 1896–1966, from David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (1994) |
| Born | 1896 London |
| Died | 15 March 1966 |
| Occupation | Journalist; newspaper editor |
| Known for | Editor of The Jewish Chronicle (1936–1946) |
| Parents | Leopold Greenberg and Marion Gates |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Greenberg |
| Predecessor | J. M. Rich (as editor of The Jewish Chronicle) |
Ivan Marion Greenberg (1896 – March 1966) was a British journalist who edited The Jewish Chronicle from December 1936 until the board ended his appointment in July 1946. The youngest son of Leopold Greenberg, the paper's controlling editor until 1931, he admired Vladimir Jabotinsky and became closely involved with Revisionist Zionism. Historian David Cesarani writes that his "maximalist Zionism" shaped the paper's editorial policy and "finally, provoked his dismissal".[1]
Early life and journalism
Greenberg was the youngest son of Leopold Greenberg and his first wife, Marion Gates, and was born and educated in London. Cesarani gives his dates as 1896–1966; the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's obituary gave his age at death as 69, and the 1949 centenary history says he joined the staff in 1925 'in his twenty-eighth year', which would put his birth in 1897 or 1898.[1][2][3] He served in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War and was wounded on the Western Front. After demobilisation he travelled as a journalist, working on newspapers in South Africa and Australasia, and joined the staff of The Jewish Chronicle as assistant editor in 1925.[1] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency gave the year as 1926; the board's minutes, as quoted by Cesarani, recorded eleven years as assistant editor followed by ten as editor.[2][4]
The Jewish Chronicle
Appointment, 1936
After Leopold Greenberg's death in 1931 Ivan Greenberg had, according to Cesarani, always felt that the editorship was rightfully his; a boardroom dispute in 1935–36 involving the directors Mortimer Epstein, Leopold Kessler and Michel Oppenheimer cleared the way. Kessler warned in May 1936 that the editor J. M. Rich's contract was unlikely to be renewed, and the board appointed Greenberg in December 1936. Epstein resigned on 10 December, writing that the appointment had "the appearance of a reward to the Greenberg family".[5] John Shaftesley succeeded him as assistant editor, and Simon Gilbert continued as associate editor, writing the leading articles.[1]
Editorial policy
Cesarani writes that under Greenberg the paper returned to criticism of Chaim Weizmann and the Zionist leadership, while taking a favourable view of the Anglo-Jewish establishment; he defended Neville Laski, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Anglo-Jewish Association against their critics. He and Laski shared a hostility to the proposed partition of Palestine, and in 1937 the paper printed a series of attacks on the Peel Commission plan, including an article by Winston Churchill.[6] In 1943 the paper opposed the Zionist bloc's campaign to gain control of the Board of Deputies, with the paper declaring on 17 September 1943 that the Board had "as good as committed suicide".[7]
Greenberg became drawn into the Committee for a Jewish Army in 1942, which the paper supported from April of that year, and he wrote leading articles for the Revisionist paper The Jewish Standard; Cesarani says his close ties with Revisionist activists "eventually compromised his editorial independence".[8] In 1946 the paper described attacks by Jewish groups in Palestine as "Jewish Resistance Operations", and from March reports of sabotage and attacks on British forces were gathered on the front page under the headline "Jewish Resistance Movement"; the MP Earl Winterton demanded that it be prosecuted for seditious libel, according to Cesarani.[9]
The Second World War
After the war it emerged that Greenberg and Simon Gilbert were on a blacklist compiled in 1940 by the Nazi security police (Sicherheitsdienst) of people to be arrested at the first opportunity if Britain were invaded.[10] The paper did not miss an issue during the war, and published its centenary issue on 14 November 1941.[11]
Dismissal, 1946
In January 1946 Neville Laski told David Kessler that he and the director Leonard Stein felt Greenberg's editorials and "news settings" had justified "grave criticism". On 24 May 1946 a special board meeting, chaired by Michel Oppenheimer, told Greenberg that the paper's Palestine policy "tended too far in the direction of Revisionism" and that the paper "had ceased to be an independent forum"; the board set out its policy as "Moderate Zionist in respect to Palestine / Orthodox as regards the Jewish religion / Strictly loyal in relation to HMG". On 2 July 1946 Stein and Kessler outvoted Oppenheimer, and Greenberg's appointment was ended from 5 July; he was awarded £2,000 for loss of office.[12] John Shaftesley became acting editor.[4] The issue of 5 July 1946 carried "A Personal Note" signed by Greenberg, saying that "a growing divergence has manifested itself between the views my conscience compels me to hold and those held, equally conscientiously, by the Board of Directors", and a statement by the directors.[4] In September and October 1946 he negotiated with Eliezer Hoofien of the Anglo-Palestine Bank in Tel Aviv about buying the shares held by Mortimer Epstein.[13] The Jerusalem correspondent, Julian Meltzer, resigned in solidarity.[4]
Later life and death
The Encyclopaedia Judaica describes Greenberg as a leader of the Revisionist Party in Britain and says he translated Menachem Begin's book The Revolt into English in 1951.[14] The United States copyright record for The Revolt (registered 7 September 1951) lists Samuel Katz as translator and "Ivan M. Greenberg" as editor.[15] His wife was Doris Greenberg.[13] The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on 15 March 1966 that he had died "today", aged 69.[2]
Company appointments
Companies House holds no officer record for Ivan Greenberg; he died before the online register's coverage begins (its earliest appointment dates for Jewish Chronicle companies are given as "before 26 December 1991").
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 158–159, 183.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ivan Greenberg, Former Editor of London Jewish Chronicle, Dead Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 15 March 1966, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ The Jewish Chronicle 1841–1941: A Century of Newspaper History (London, 1949), p. 169.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 190–191.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 154–157.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 159–161.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 185–186.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 180, 183–184.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 189.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 168.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 169.
- ↑ David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 189–191.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 David Cesarani, The Jewish Chronicle and Anglo-Jewry, 1841–1991 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p. 192.
- ↑ Getzel Kressel, Greenberg, Leopold Jacob in Encyclopaedia Judaica (via Encyclopedia.com), accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Copyright Encyclopedia, entry "The Revolt. By Menachem Begin, employer for hire of Samuel Katz (translator) & Ivan M. Greenberg (editor)" (registrations AI0000003228 and TX 508-793, 7 September 1951), accessed 10 November 2026.