Gershon Jacobson (May 30, 1934 – May 29, 2005) was the founder, editor and publisher of '' Der Algemeiner Journal'', one of the largest

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-language weekly newspapers in North America. He died at the age of 70 and lived in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

on May 30, 1933, Jacobson began his journalistic career in

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 ...

writing for French newspapers following the war in the early 1950s. In 1952, he and his family moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

then to New York City. In 1953 Mr. Jacobson moved to the United States where he became the city editor for Der Tog Morgen Journal (The Daily Jewish Journal), one of the largest daily Yiddish newspapers (formed at that time through the union of the two dailies '' Der Tog'' and ''Der Morgen Zshurnal''). Gershon Jacobson also worked as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune and in the 1960s replaced

Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...

as the UN correspondent for

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

's largest daily, Yediot Acharonot. In 1972 he founded The Algemeiner Journal, the largest Yiddish weekly newspaper, which he published and edited till his death on May 29, 2005. The paper, printed in Yiddish with a four-page English supplement, has a circulation of 18,000. Mr. Jacobson received an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and a graduate degree from the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Graduate School of Journalism. He worked on The Herald-Tribune from the late 1950s until it ceased publication in 1966, after the Tribune ceased publication, Jacobson moved to the

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

and then to

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

, and was later city editor for Der Tog-Morgen Journal, a Yiddish-language daily. After Der Tog closed in late 1971, he founded Der Algemeiner Journal. His three sons,

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, Boruch and Yosef Y., are all rabbis in

. His two daughters ar
Freida Hecht
of Norwalk/ Westport, CT and Chanie Krasnianski of New York City.

References

External links

Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity FoundationDer Algemeiner Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Gershon 2005 deaths 1934 births Jewish American writers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews