Jonathan Pearlman
Jonathan Pearlman

Jonathan Pearlman is the editor of The Jewish Quarterly. He is also editor of Australian Foreign Affairs and world editor of The Saturday Paper. He previously worked at The Sydney Morning Herald, covering foreign affairs and politics, and as a correspondent in the Middle East. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Diplomat, Good Weekend, Australian Book Review and The Jerusalem Report, and he has been a Walkley Award finalist and United Nations Media Award winner. He studied at the University of New South Wales and Oxford University.

Our aim is to feature great writers engaging with today’s world – the politics, the dilemmas, the culture – in ways that explore and expose the complexities and curiosities, rather than simplify them. Each issue will address diverse topics and will, I hope, include writing that is compelling, surprising, enriching and a pleasure to read. 
 — Jonathan Pearlman, Editor, The Jewish Quarterly

As a contributor

October 7 and the Left

After October 7, many on the left justified, dismissed or championed acts and beliefs they would otherwise view as unconscionable. Why?

Elon Musk's Political Turning

Elon Musk – head of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of Twitter – has become a neo-reactionary online troll. What has caused his troubling political transformation?

The language that makes a people

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the remarkable evolution and revival of Hebrew – a language whose trajectory charts the recent history of the Jewish people.

An attack on Argentina's Jewish centre in 1994 killed 85 people. It remains unsolved. Why?

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly examines the unresolved questions and political intrigue surrounding the AMIA bombing – a terrorist attack that destroyed the Jewish community centre building in Buenos Aires in 1994, leaving eighty-five people dead and hundreds wounded.

Baal Shem Tov to Zelensky

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the rich, tragic, tumultuous history of the Jews of Ukraine, who have played a pivotal role in modern religious, cultural and intellectual Jewish life.

Israel, writing, politics

The Pen and the Sword explores the efforts by successive generations of Israeli writers to grapple with their nation's difficult political questions.

Inside its 43-year quest to dominate the Middle East

Uncovering the secretive ambitions and activities of a pivotal Middle Eastern power.

American Jewish writing in the twenty-first century

What’s obsessing Jewish American writers today?

Europe Before the Holocaust

The Jewish world of pre-war Europe was almost destroyed. If we hold up a lantern to that darkness, what can we discover about what was lost, what survived and what could have been?

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly examines the demise of Israel’s left, which dominated the nation’s politics for decades but is now weak, fragmented and shrinking.

As an editor

October 7 and the Left

After October 7, many on the left justified, dismissed or championed acts and beliefs they would otherwise view as unconscionable. Why?

Elon Musk's Political Turning

Elon Musk – head of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of Twitter – has become a neo-reactionary online troll. What has caused his troubling political transformation?

The language that makes a people

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the remarkable evolution and revival of Hebrew – a language whose trajectory charts the recent history of the Jewish people.

An attack on Argentina's Jewish centre in 1994 killed 85 people. It remains unsolved. Why?

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly examines the unresolved questions and political intrigue surrounding the AMIA bombing – a terrorist attack that destroyed the Jewish community centre building in Buenos Aires in 1994, leaving eighty-five people dead and hundreds wounded.

Baal Shem Tov to Zelensky

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the rich, tragic, tumultuous history of the Jews of Ukraine, who have played a pivotal role in modern religious, cultural and intellectual Jewish life.

Europe Before the Holocaust

The Jewish world of pre-war Europe was almost destroyed. If we hold up a lantern to that darkness, what can we discover about what was lost, what survived and what could have been?

Cover image of The New Middle East, JQ 245
Shifting Allies, Enemies and Loyalties

The Middle East is changing as tensions rise and new rivalries, blocs and partnerships form. What is causing these shifts, and how will they affect the region’s future?

Cover image of The Jewish Quarterly
New Populism, Old Hatreds

Issue 244 of The Jewish Quarterly investigates rising global populism.