''El Tiempo'' was a

Ladino language Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew script: , Cyrillic: ), also known as Ladino, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain, and then after the Edict of Expulsion spreading through the Ottoman Emp ...

newspaper published in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in the years 1872–1930. ''El Tiempo'' was the first Ladino newspaper published in Istanbul. It was also the longest-running Ladino newspaper in the city.Migdal, Joel S.
Boundaries and Belonging States and Societies in the Struggle to Shape Identities and Local Practices
'. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. p. 52 It was published as a daily newspaper, later being converted into a biweekly. It soon became the most influential newspaper of its time, with a circulation of up to 10,000. From July 1882 to 1930 ''El Tiempo'' was published three times a week.Migdal, Joel S.
Boundaries and Belonging States and Societies in the Struggle to Shape Identities and Local Practices
'. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. pp. 50-51 Politically, the newspaper supported the positions of Turkish reformers. At the time of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, half of the adult Jews in the city were subscribers of ''El Tiempo''. However, from that point onwards the influence of the newspaper declined sharply. During the initial phase of its history the newspaper was patronized by Hayim Carmona. His son Isaac Carmona served as its editor from its founding year. After his father's death in 1883, Isaac Carmona took over as patron of the newspaper whilst the post of editor passed on to Mercado Fresco and Sami Alkabez. After a few years,

David Fresco David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

became editor. He served as editor of the newspaper for almost fifty years. ''El Tiempo'' was supported by the ''

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...

''. As a result, the newspaper promoted the teaching of the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

to its readers. Moreover, it sought to educate its readers in the

Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...

. It ran a section in Turkish (written in the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...

) every two-three days. The world-view of the paper in its early phase was largely

Eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) is a worldview that is centered on Western civilization or a biased view that favors it over non-Western civilizations. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world ...

, reporting events from the capitals of Europe (

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) whilst paying little attention to events inside the Ottoman Empire (including Constantinople/Istanbul itself). Fictional stories published in the newspaper were largely translations from French. The promotion of the French language was however somewhat subdued in the 1890s, but the language used in articles was often a heavily French-influenced Ladino.Migdal, Joel S.
Boundaries and Belonging States and Societies in the Struggle to Shape Identities and Local Practices
'. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. pp. 59-61 Once

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

emerged as a political force, ''El Tiempo'' responded by proclaiming its loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. Within the Ladino Jewish community in Constantinople/Istanbul (where Zionist ideas were beginning to take root) ''El Tiempo'' argued that Ottoman Jews ought to remain Ottoman nationals. There was a brief period (prior to 1910) during which discussions were ongoing between the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

and ''El Tiempo'', but any re-evaluation of Zionism on behalf of ''El Tiempo'' was sealed as David Fresco aligned with prominent anti-Zionist Rabbi

Chaim Nahum Chaim (Haim) Nahum Effendi ( tr, Haim Nahum Efendi; ; ) (1872–1960) was a Jewish scholar, jurist, and linguist of the early 20th century. He served as the Grand Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire.Kuneralp, Sinan. "Ottoman Diplomatic and Consular ...

. Fresco argued in favour of assimilation of the Ottoman Jews into Turkish society and the promotion of the use of the Turkish language.Migdal, Joel S.
Boundaries and Belonging States and Societies in the Struggle to Shape Identities and Local Practices
'. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. p. 65

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiempo 1872 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1930 disestablishments in Turkey Anti-Zionism in the Middle East Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire Defunct newspapers published in Turkey Jewish newspapers Jewish Turkish history Jews and Judaism in Istanbul Judaeo-Spanish-language newspapers Newspapers published in Istanbul Newspapers established in 1872 Publications disestablished in 1930 Sephardi Jewish culture in Turkey