Historian and author Dr. Gadi Taub, one of the only conservative voices published in the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, was fired on Tuesday because his articles “support the regime coup.”

Taub received an email from Haaretz‘s publisher Amos Schocken, saying: “I am forced to write you this email after many years of working together, during which, along with the difficulty of publishing your articles that did not please many of Haaretz‘s readers, I thought that you made an important contribution to freedom of expression in Haaretz and the possibility of being exposed to other and different positions.

“Nonetheless, two things happened recently that changed the newspaper’s position regarding your articles. One is the recent change of government, which was accompanied by an aggressive and immediate attack on Israeli democracy, as we at Haaretz understand it.

“The desire to weaken the judicial system with the help of extreme moves that are being made unilaterally and without restraints, also forces us, as media, to defend ourselves against what is perceived by us as a regime coup.

“In this sense, we find it very difficult to reconcile the dissonance: on the one hand, to be at the forefront against this coup, and at the same time to publish articles that lend support to that coup. In terms of defensive democracy, we believe that now is a time of defensiveness.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)