The newspaper's editorial line was defined by Gershom Schocken, who was editor-in-chief between 1939]] and 1990. Haaretz is owned by the Schocken family. The current editors are Hanoch Marmari and Yoel Esteron.
Unlike the Maariv and Yediot Aharonot dailies, but like the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz has clear political views. Its views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict tend to be leftist and represent the political agenda of Meretz (Israeli Social Democratic Left party) and the dovish part of the Israeli Labor Party. The position of the newspaper in Israel's religious spectrum is decidedly secular. Although space is often given to issues of social justice, the paper's editorial line on economical issues is decidedly capitalist and similar to The Economist.