Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

Jeffrey Goldberg, Liberal Zionist Writer, Named Atlantic’s Next Editor-in-Chief

Jeffrey Goldberg, the prominent columnist known for his foreign policy writings and liberal Zionist commitments, was on October 11 named as the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, a magazine reputed for its highbrow coverage of news and culture.

“It’s certainly true that this was not in my plan for 2016,” he said in a Monday interview with The New York Times. “It started coming up in conversation a couple of months after James left, and I had to take it seriously,” he continued, referring to his predecessor James Bennet.

For Goldberg, who once worked for The Forward, the appointment caps a storied career in journalism. Born in New York City, he moved to the Middle East and served as a prison guard during the First Intifada, after he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He recounted those experiences in his 2006 memoir, “Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across the Middle East Divide.”

After returning home, he started as a reporter for The Washington Post, eventually writing for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and the Forward, among other publications. He joined the Atlantic as a columnist in 2007, and since has gotten recognition for his interviews with leaders such as President Barack Obama, writings on foreign affairs, and promotion of supportive, but critical views on Israel. In 2014, he notably accompanied Ari Shavit on his book tour for “My Promised Land,” a liberal Zionist cri de coeur.

The Atlantic had been searching for a new editor-in-chief since April, when Bennet left. “It is fair to say that, together, we met a great deal of the nation’s top editorial talent,” wrote David Bradley, chairman of the Atlantic Media Group, in a letter to workers. “But, at least for us, Jeff is something set apart.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.