One of Anglo-Jewry’s most senior leaders, Sir Trevor Chinn, has paid a warm and unusual tribute to the outgoing editor-in-chief of the New Statesman magazine, Jason Cowley.
Sir Trevor said that Cowley, who is stepping down after 16 years in the editor’s chair, had successfully led the publication’s “transformation” from a weekly political and cultural magazine to a multi media brand.
But in addition to his publishing credentials — taking the New Statesman to a 30-year high in circulation and becoming a multiple winner of the British Society of Magazine Editors editor of the year award for politics and current affairs — Sir Trevor particularly wanted to praise Cowley as “a great friend of the Jewish community and of Israel”.
He said that the editor had “stood by us solidly through this difficult year, publishing a large number of supportive articles, including by the Chief Rabbi and a collection of Jewish voices, foremost among whom was Fania Oz-Salzberger, the daughter of the late novelist Amos Oz”.
Cowley had visited Israel in June and “published very supportive comment”, and Sir Trevor Chinn said he regarded him as “a close personal friend and a friend of our community and Israel”.
