The New York Times’ public editor recommended that the newspaper’s Jerusalem bureau chief be reassigned because his son joined the Israeli army.
Clark Hoyt, the paper’s independent ombudsman, wrote a Feb. 7 column discussing whether bureau chief Ethan Bronner can be objective, and his reporting seen as fair, now that his son is serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
Bronner’s son enlisted last December for a year and a half of service with plans to return to the United States for college.
“I have enormous respect for Bronner and his work, and he has done nothing wrong,” Hoyt wrote. “But this is not about punishment; it is simply a difficult reality. I would find a plum assignment for him somewhere else, at least for the duration of his son’s service in the IDF.”
An American Jew, Bronner has been posted in Israel four times in the past two years. He is married to an Israeli psychologist.
The possible conflict of interest was raised several weeks ago by the pro-Palestinian Web site Electronic Intifada.
In a response also published in the newspaper on Feb. 7, Times Executive Editor Bill Keller disagreed with Hoyt and said Bronner would remain in his post.
“You and everyone you interviewed for your column concurs that Ethan Bronner is fully capable of continuing to cover his beat fairly,” Keller said. — jta