Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken sent a letter to employees of the media group in which he stated that the financial situation of the newspaper is strong and that its circulation is "greater than ever."

Schocken sent the letter in light of the government's attacks on Haaretz, partly due to statements Schocken made at a conference, according to which, those the government calls "terrorists" are "freedom fighters". The newspaper disavowed the remarks, and Schocken later clarified that he did not mean Hamas.

"We know that especially in the past year, a special effort has been required to maintain the ongoing work in the newspaper in all its departments. An effort that sometimes bordered on real risk to life, exposure to difficult news content, and dealing with angry advertisers and angry subscribers," Schocken wrote.

"Our stubborn adherence to the principles of quality journalism 'won' us this year an unprecedented attack by the government through the imposition of an economic boycott on the newspaper, and by the 'poison machine' that spreads lies as part of an orchestrated attack on the media under its control. We are aware that, like us, many of you have recently been exposed to personal harm from the 'spraying' of the poison machine that is being used against the newspaper, and we would like to thank each and every one of you for your commendable handling, especially in the face of these attacks.

"At the same time, our firm adherence to the principles of quality, investigative and courageous journalism has earned us, without quotation marks, great respect among the public in Israel and around the world. Haaretz's circulation is greater than ever, it is the most quoted media outlet in Israel, and its financial situation is solid."

The letter is also unusually signed by his brother, Hillel Schocken, chairman of the board of directors of Haaretz. A note at the end of the letter states that the board of directors decided to rotate the chairmanship every six months and that Hillel Schocken replaced the Schocken sister, Rachel Edelman, in the position. In addition to the two brothers and sister, oligarch Leonid Nevzlin also holds shares in the newspaper.

Amos Schocken, 80, has led Haaretz for decades. He recently said that he is interested in passing the reins to his son, Roni Schocken, but it is not known whether the other shareholders see eye to eye with him.