• by Ray Schultz , November 4, 2023

Heated debate about the Israel-Hamas war has claimed another journalistic job. 

Jazmine Hughes resigned as a staff writer on the New York Times Magazine on Friday over her signing a letter in support of Palestinians and protesting Israel’s siege, the Times writes. 

“While I respect that she has strong convictions, this was a clear violation of The Times’s policy on public protest,” wrote Jake Silverstein, the editor of The New York Times Magazine, in an email to staff members on Friday.

Silverstein added, “This policy, which I fully support, is an important part of our commitment to independence.”

The letter was posted by a group called Writers Against the War on Gaza.

Silverstein continued, “She and I discussed that her desire to stake out this kind of public position and join in public protests isn’t compatible with being a journalist at The Times, and we both came to the conclusion that she should resign.”

Hughes had also violated the policy earlier this year by signing a letter protesting the Times’ reporting on transgender issues, the Times writes. 

Jamie Lauren Keiles, a contributing writer at the magazine, who had also signed the letter on the war, said on X that he would no longer write for the publication.

Hughes won a National Magazine Award for profile writing this year for her articles on Viola Davis and Whoopi Goldberg.

In October, David Velasco was fired as editor in chief of Artforum for signing an open letter commenting on the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Oct. 19 letter was “shared on Artforum’s website and social platforms without our, or the requisite senior members of the editorial team’s, prior knowledge,” publishers Danielle McConnell and Kate Koza said in a post. “This was not consistent with Artforum’s editorial process.”