''La Epoca'' (

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...

: ''The Era'') was a Ladino language newspaper published between 1875 and 1911 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

⁩,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Published nearly for forty years it was the leading Ladino publication in the Empire and first Ladino newspaper in Thessaloniki.

History and profile

''La Epoca'' was launched by Sadi Levy in 1875, and the first issue appeared on 1 November that year. He also served as the publisher and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the paper until 1888. He also published a French language newspaper entitled '' Le Journal de Salonique''. The subtitle of ''La Epoca'' was ''Revista comerciala y literaria'' (Ladino: ''Commercial and literary newspaper''), and the paper had a progressive and

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

stance. Its supporter was

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 ...

, a Jewish organization. ''La Epoca'' targeted the

Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

living in Thessaloniki and other towns who could only read Ladino materials. Following the death of Sadi Levy his son, Samuel, became the editor and publisher of ''La Epoca''. The newspaper was first published on a daily basis, and then, its frequency was switched to weekly. One of the contributors was Mercado Joseph Covo. ''La Epoca'' and its sister newspaper ''Le Journal de Salonique'' both supported

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 ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

Ottomanism Ottomanism or ''Osmanlılık'' (, tr, Osmanlıcılık) was a concept which developed prior to the 1876–1878 First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire. Its proponents believed that it could create the social cohesion needed to keep millets ...

. In 1892 ''La Epoca'' praised the Ottomans for offering them a land after their expulsion from Spain and described the Empire as the "land where we are eating free bread." Following the

Young Turk revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...

in 1908 both ''La Epoca'' and ''Le Journal de Salonique'' focused more on Zionism. ''La Epoca'' folded in 1911. The paper was archived by the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Epoca 1875 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1911 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire Defunct weekly newspapers Jewish newspapers Newspapers published in Thessaloniki Newspapers established in 1875 Publications disestablished in 1911 Judaeo-Spanish-language newspapers Socialism in the Ottoman Empire Weekly newspapers published in Greece Zionism in the Ottoman Empire Daily newspapers published in Greece Socialist newspapers Jews and Judaism in Thessaloniki