HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The American Hebrew'' was a weekly Jewish
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinati ...
published in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.


History

It began publication on November 21, 1879, in New York City. It was founded by
Frederick de Sola Mendes Frederick de Sola Mendes (July 8, 1850 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, West Indies – October 26, 1927 in New Rochelle, New York) was a rabbi, author, and editor. Family history and education Frederick de Sola Mendes was born into an old Spanish & Port ...
and its publisher was Philip Cowen. The weekly's publisher was the American Hebrew Publishing Company. Its third issue declared its policy: "It is not controlled by one person, nor is it inspired by one. Its editorial staff comprises men of diverse shades of opinion on ritualistic matters in Judaism, but men who are determined to combine their energies for the common cause of Judaism." To maintain impersonality pertaining to the paper, the names of board members were never published. The turn-of-the-century ''
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'' also says that, "Editorially, ''The American Hebrew'' stands for conservatism in Judaism. Nevertheless, the columns of this journal are ever open to the discussion of views with which it can in no way accord, but which may be of interest to its readers. Nearly all the prominent Jewish writers and communal workers in the United States have been contributors to its pages.""The American Hebrew"
''Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1901-1906)
From the time of its founding, ''The American Hebrew'' covered many topics of intense Jewish interest internationally. It covered the persecutions of
Romanian Jews The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...
that followed the signing of the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 and published a number of important letters on the subject from European writers, which led the
American Jews American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...
to exercise their influence on behalf of their suffering coreligionists abroad. The periodical covered the persecution of the
Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
following the
May Laws Temporary regulations regarding the Jews (also known as May Laws) were proposed by the minister of internal affairs Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev and enacted on 15 May (3 May O.S.), 1882, by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Originally, regulations of ...
in 1881. The paper reported on the large influx of Jewish immigrants that followed these latter events, and which significantly changed the
demographics Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...
of Jewish-Americans; it also covered the rise of institutions to deal with this influx, including the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Departmen ...
and the Hebrew Technical Institute for their modern education. In literary terms, ''The American Hebrew'' also introduced leading figures in Jewish life, including the writing career of poet
Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspire ...
, who was covered extensively at the time of her death in 1887; she later became famous for her
sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
"
The New Colossus "The New Colossus" is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). In 1903, the poem was cast ...
", which was inscribed on the base of the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a ...
in 1912.


Timeline

By the twentieth century, ''The American Hebrew'' had absorbed several other regional and religious Jewish periodicals, including ''The Jewish Chronicle'' of Baltimore, Md., in 1880; ''The Jewish Reformer'', a weekly journal published for a time by
Kaufmann Kohler Kaufmann Kohler (May 10, 1843 – January 28, 1926) was a German-born Jewish American biblical scholar and critic, theologian, Reform rabbi, and contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906). Life and work Kauf ...
, I. S. Moses, and Emil G. Hirsch, in 1886, and ''Jewish Tidings'' of Rochester, N. Y., in 1895. Over the years, the journal experienced a number of mergers and changes of name. * The English language Jewish weekly first appeared as ''The American Hebrew'' from November 21, 1879 to December 26, 1902. * After merging with ''The Jewish Messenger'', it next appeared as ''The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger'' from January 2, 1903 to April 21, 1922. * It then reappeared as ''The American Hebrew'' between April 28, 1922 and January 29, 1932. * After merging with the ''New York Jewish Tribune'', it appeared as ''American Hebrew and Jewish Tribune'' from February 5, 1932 to October 24, 1935. * It again reappeared as ''The American Hebrew'' between November 1, 1935 and September 14, 1956. * Following its merger with the Brooklyn publication ''The Examiner'', it dropped its specifically Jewish title and was renamed the ''American Examiner''; it continued publishing from September 20, 1956 to October 15, 1970. * Following its merger in 1970 with the Washington publication ''The Jewish Week'', it was renamed ''The Jewish Week and the American Examiner''; in 1975 it was renamed the ''Jewish Week''; and in 1983 it became the ''
Washington Jewish Week ''Washington Jewish Week'' (''WJW'') is an independent community weekly newspaper whose logo reads, "Serving the nation's capital and the greater Washington Jewish community since 1930."
''.


See also

Bernard G Richards


References


External links

*
The American Hebrew
' from the
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
(c.1905) {{DEFAULTSORT:American Hebrew, The Magazines established in 1879 Jewish magazines published in the United States 1879 establishments in New York (state)