The Times of Israel
Israeli center, pro-Israel
Background
The Times of Israel launched in February 2012, co-founded by David Horovitz — an Israeli-British journalist who had previously edited The Jerusalem Post — and Seth Klarman, the Boston-based billionaire who runs the Baupost Group hedge fund. The two were its only investors, with Klarman providing seed funding and both aiming for eventual financial self-sufficiency through advertising. By 2014 the outlet claimed two million monthly readers; by 2017 that figure had risen to 3.5 million unique monthly users, making it the largest English-language Israeli and Jewish news source by audience size. Alongside in-house reporting, the site hosts an open third-party blogging platform that has repeatedly generated controversy when outside contributors posted inflammatory content later removed by editors — material that critics sometimes misattributed to the outlet itself. Media bias monitors rate its U.S. political coverage as center to left-center, while noting that its reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict skews pro-Israel, reflecting its core audience of English-speaking Jews globally. Klarman has donated to several pro-Israel advocacy groups and in 2016 gave $1.5 million to CAMERA, a right-leaning media watchdog; he publicly opposed Donald Trump's first presidential candidacy and backed anti-Trump Republican efforts. In the Trump second term, the outlet reports both areas of U.S.-Israel alignment — including Trump's strong rhetorical support for Israel — and significant tensions, such as reported private remarks by Trump calling Netanyahu a 'con man' and friction over Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
Sources
- The Times of Israel – Wikipedia
- The Softspoken Man Behind Times of Israel – The Forward
- Times of Israel – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
- The Times of Israel Media Bias – AllSides
- Times of Israel Cofounder Gave $1.5 Million to Right-wing Media Watchdog – Haaretz
- Seth Klarman – Wikipedia
- About The Times of Israel and its staff
- Seth Klarman, the New Jewish Warren Buffett, Bearish on Trump – The Forward
Profile compiled 2026-06-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.