Algemeiner Journal

The Algemeiner Journal, known informally as The Algemeiner, is a newspaper based in New York City which covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news.

Algemeiner Journal
TypeWeekly newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity Foundation
Founder(s)Gershon Jacobson
PublisherSimon Jacobson
EditorDovid Efune
Founded1972
HeadquartersBrooklyn, New York, USA
Circulation23,000[1]
Websitealgemeiner.com

History

In 1972, Gershon Jacobson founded the Yiddish-language Der Algemeiner Journal, after consulting the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.[2] Jacobson served as editor and publisher from its inception until he died in 2005.[3]

The inaugural issue was published by Der Algemeiner Journal Corporation on February 23, 1972. The ten-page paper was priced at 25 cents. Twenty thousand issues were printed.[4] Der Algemeiner Journal intended to fill the gap after the daily Yiddish paper Der Tog Morgen Zhurnal closed in 1971.[5] Jacobson had earlier written and served as its city editor.[6] The largest-circulation Yiddish weekly in the United States,[6] Der Algemeiner Journal emphasized Jewish community news, with a politically independent viewpoint, including reporting on tensions between rival Hasidic sects. Although Jacobson was a Lubavitcher Chasid,[7] according to The New York Times, he "defied easy categorization."[3]

At its peak, Der Algemeiner's circulation had neared 100,000 copies. In 1989, in response to the increasing marginalization of the Yiddish language in the changing Jewish community, Der Algemeiner Journal began printing a four-page English supplement in the middle of the paper, attracting a more diverse Jewish audience.[8]

The Algemeiner's Advisory Board was chaired by Nobel laureate, writer and activist Elie Wiesel.[9]

In May 2005, after Gershon Jacobson died, his elder son, Simon Jacobson, became the Publisher of Der Algemeiner Journal. He founded the Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity Foundation (GJCF), a Jewish media organization with the mission to serve as a voice for Jews and Israel.[10] In 2008, he reconceived Der Algemeiner Journal as an English-language publication, replacing the Yiddish "Der" in its title for "The". That year, Dovid Efune became the Editor-In-Chief of what was called The Algemeiner and Director of the GJCF. Efune left his position in November 2021 to join the New York Sun, but remained on the board.[11]

In 2011, the GJCF launched the website Algemeiner.com.

Content and circulation

The Algemeiner's print edition is published weekly every Friday, except for the weeks of Passover and Sukkot. The paper's circulation is between 18,000 and 23,000. It is sold at newsstands internationally and is available for subscription. It can also be viewed as an ePaper on Algemeiner.com. The vast majority of The Algemeiner readership and content is online.

During the United States presidency of George Bush, Sr., Algemeiner had among the harshest editorial lines regarding Bush administration efforts in the Israel-Palestinian peace process to roll back settlements. The publication called Jewish-American supporters of the delegation "Baker's apostates" in comparison to those Jews who joined the Spanish Inquisition. This perspective placed the publication outside the Jewish mainstream at the time.[12]

In 2020, Reuters reported that Algemeiner, along with the Jerusalem Post, had published op-eds credited to the author "Oliver Taylor", who did not exist. The author photograph proved to be a computationally-generated photograph, a deepfake, and the educational details of the author were not validated by the universities.[13][14] Opinion articles by this fake author largely made untrue claims and smears about the Palestinian human rights activist couple Mazen Masri and Ryvka Barnard.[15]

As of 2020, Algemeiner had very little advertising, and editor in chief Dovid Efune said the site was largely supported by many small donors who support the site's message.[16]

Annual events and lists

The Algemeiner began hosting its 'Jewish 100' gala in 2014, an elaboration on its annual dinner.[17] Donald Trump and Melissa Rivers headlined the 2015 event, presenting short speeches and accepting awards for Algemeiner's recognition of their support of the Jewish people and Israel.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Algemeiner Journal". Mondo Times. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  2. Tzivia Jacobson, "The Rebbe’s Advice on Opening a Yiddish Newspaper," Chabad.org, December2014, January 2015.
  3. Fox, Margalit (June 2, 2005). "Gershon Jacobson, 70, Founder and Editor of Yiddish Journal, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  4. "New Yiddish Weekly Launched," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 24, 1972.
  5. "A New Yiddish Weekly Makes Its Appearance", The New York Times, February 24, 1972.
  6. "Yiddish Journalist Gershon Jacobson, 71", The Forward, June 3, 2005.
  7. Chaim Miller, "Turning Judaism Outward: A biography of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, page 208", Turning Judaism Outward: A biography of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, p.208, copyright 2014.
  8. Elli Wohlgelernter, "Head of Yiddish paper comes ‘from a different school,’" Jweekly, May 18, 2001.
  9. chiourim.com. "Allgemeiner Journal : 40 ans au service de la communauté juive". chiourim (in French). Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  10. "GJCF mission statement". Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  11. Robertson, Katie (November 3, 2021). "The New York Sun, a defunct newspaper, plans a comeback after a sale". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  12. Goldberg, J. J. (1996). Jewish power : inside the American Jewish establishment. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley. p. 231. ISBN 9780201622423.
  13. Satter, Raphael (July 15, 2020). "Deepfake used to attack activist couple shows new disinformation frontier". Reuters. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  14. Oster, Marcy (July 17, 2020). "News outlets covering Israel found, again, to have run fake op-eds". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. Whalen, Andrew (July 20, 2020). "What's a deepfake and why exactly are they so dangerous?". Newsweek.
  16. Eisner, Jane (June 8, 2020). "The uncertain future of Jewish news media". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  17. Fishman, Tzvi Allen (February 11, 2015). "Algemeiner Journal Jewish 100 Gala Honors Donald Trump, Joan Rivers and Yuli Edelsterin". Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  18. Shapiro, Ben (February 4, 2015). "Donald Trump, Melissa Rivers Headline Algemeiner Gala". Observer. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
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