Some people work for years to get a job in journalism. They learn the tools of the trade in university, get a low-paying job or internship at the bottom of the totem pole at a local media outlet, and then work their way up and move on to larger publications.
And maybe, just maybe, they can find their way to being a leading figure in a major news outlet, rubbing shoulders and having interviews with some of the great movers and shakers of the world. If you’re moving to a foreign country where an entirely different language is spoken, this journey can be even harder.
Or you can be like David Jablinowitz, who, within a few short months of making aliyah right after college, got a job at the Israel Broadcasting Authority and became one of the leading English voices on Israeli radio.
In his decades on the job, Jablinowitz has watched history unfold, and covered it with grace and professionalism. Up until the IBA was shut down and was replaced with KAN in 2017, he, for many, served as the English voice of Israel and had also spent time working for The Jerusalem Post in 2000.
But he would return to the Post in 2020 with gusto and soon became the paper’s op-ed editor, responsible for curating our opinion pages with quality and insightful content from expert columnists.
In his career, Jablinowitz has covered every measure of the complex web of Israeli politics and diplomacy, and, in doing so, he has spoken with high-ranking officials, including former US president Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And in 2021, he had an impromptu conversation with US president Joe Biden on Remembrance Day.
In Jerusalem sat down with Jablinowitz to discuss his career, its highlights, and his advice for the next generation of journalists.
What brought you to Israel?
My mother was the driving force in bringing my family here. I grew up in New York. On our first visit to Israel, an Israeli relative took us to the Mount of Olives on the final night of our trip to look out on the Temple Mount. My mother burst into tears from the emotional experience and vowed that we would make aliyah.
Over the ensuing years, my three siblings moved here, then my parents, and finally me, the youngest child.
What got you interested in journalism?
I was interested in journalism from high school, though a friend in elementary school said I already showed signs of an affinity for the profession even then. I went to a yeshiva high school in Brooklyn, and nearby there was a public high school named for Edward R. Murrow. I researched who he was and became fascinated by the impact a correspondent could have.
At Queens College of the City University of New York, I worked at the college’s Jewish newspaper. I was already monitoring news from Israel for the newspaper and knew I’d soon be moving to the Jewish state. Covering Israeli news increased my knowledge to lay the groundwork and whet my appetite for my future career.
I moved to Israel straight out of college. Within just a few months, I landed a job at Kol Yisrael – the radio network of the Israel Broadcasting Authority – in the English service. It was a dream come true to work in journalism and in Israel. I couldn’t believe that this Brooklyn kid who grew up following baseball more than Israel was now covering major events in the history of the Jewish state.
Tell me about your career at the ‘Post.’
Kol Yisrael-English and The Jerusalem Post had seen themselves as complementing each other in serving English speakers who cared about Israel, both here and in the Diaspora. Over time, I started connecting to the Post through various op-ed articles, and briefly, in 2000, I served as the Post’s political reporter during a tumultuous period in the term of prime minister Ehud Barak.
In 2017, the IBA was closed by the government and replaced with KAN. After several months at KAN, I decided to end my public radio career.
In 2020, I was offered a position at the Post as a copy editor and proofreader. I had already started a transition from broadcasting to the print journalism world. In 2021, I was offered the position of op-ed editor.
What is it like being an op-ed editor?
It’s an extremely challenging position. The war, of course, has made it even more difficult. Through my radio years, I had taken pride in maintaining the old-school journalism task of trying to ensure objectivity.
In the op-ed section, I seem to have perplexed some readers by having articles of opposing views, sometimes right next to each other, in a world where advocacy journalism has become too much of a norm and acceptable to too many people, in my opinion.
After Oct. 7, I was very strict about what was getting in the op-ed section amid a very delicate situation regarding not only the security of our state but also the state of mind of our people.
Within a number of weeks, I was releasing my grip on what was being written as long as it wasn’t incitement, potentially libelous, and hopefully not bombastic. These were always elements that I tried to keep out of our copy, encouraging writers instead to certainly express the points of view and perspectives that they wanted to promote but in a civil manner.
What’s one of your favorite anecdotes from your career?
Overall, I’ve cherished the one-on-one and personable moments I’ve had with Israeli prime ministers. Yitzhak Rabin once asked me why I had made aliyah when Brooklyn Jews had all they needed. Once, when interviewing Ehud Olmert, the Kol Yisrael tape recorder wasn’t working, but Olmert helped me fix it. In the days when Benjamin Netanyahu would more readily agree to be interviewed by the Israeli media, we had some great exchanges.
There was also my conversation with US president Barack Obama in 2016 when we talked about some serious stuff but also got into some banter about which baseball team was worse – the team I supported, the New York Mets, or who he favored, the Chicago White Sox.
What advice do you have for aspiring journalists?
You’re doing a service to the journalism profession and the public only if you take the responsibility seriously. Be prepared to be criticized and even despised, and just keep true to your principles.
Another element needed to succeed is that you have to love what you’re doing. If you love the work, you’ll be pinching yourself that you have this opportunity. If you don’t love the work, you’ll find yourself, more often than not, banging your head against the wall.