An Apology For An Offensive Blog

I have great admiration and respect for my colleague, Jewish Week Associate Editor Jonathan Mark, and for his writing, as I have for the important value of journalistic freedom of expression.

But a blog Jonathan wrote Feb. 23 and posted on our site that, in part, spoke unfavorably about Reform rabbis went beyond the boundaries of spirited debate, in my opinion, and I apologize for it having appeared.

It was removed from our web site.

Our web site’s rules regarding readers’ commenting on blogs say that we do not allow the denigration of any religion or any of the Jewish religious streams.

For an editor of The Jewish Week to transgress along those lines is deeply troubling, prompting this note of apology.

We pride ourselves on being a publication and web site that welcomes and includes voices and viewpoints from all segments of our often contentious community. Drawing the line at what is and what is not acceptable is not a science, and is itself up for debate -- and the latitude for blogging is wider than for in-print reporting. Still, I felt that Jonathan’s blog went over the line.

One practical outcome is that we pledge to be more diligent about reviewing blogs before they are posted.

We value your trust in our journalistic integrity and never take it for granted. And we value the role we play in building bridges in the community by increasing peoples’ understanding of each others’ views and activities.

We have communicated our regrets directly to the national leadership of the Reform movement and now, through this note, to our readers.