''Israel's Messenger'' (), also known in Chinese as ''Youtai Yuebao'' (), was an English-language newspaper published in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

from 1904 to 1941. It was established by N.E.B. Ezra, who served as the paper's Editor-in-Chief for more than 30 years until his death in 1936, as the official newspaper of the Shanghai Association. It was one of China's oldest and most sophisticated Jewish periodicals, which also influenced the Jewish press.

History

''Israel's Messenger'' was founded in 1904 by the

Sephardi Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

Jewish businessman Nissim Elias Benjamin Ezra (1883–1936) as the official mouthpiece of the Shanghai Zionist Association, which had been established by Ezra the year before. Ezra served as the paper's Editor-in-Chief for more than 30 years until his death in 1936. In addition to promoting

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, the paper reported on the activities of the Jewish communities in Shanghai and the rest of China, as well as world events. It was published fortnightly, and later monthly. ''Israel's Messenger'' was one of China's oldest and most sophisticated Jewish periodicals. It was also circulated in the United States, where it successfully positioned itself as the most authoritative Jewish voice from East Asia. The chief editor of the newspaper and other Zionist scholars cooperated with

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. Japanese military officer Koreshige Inuzuka said he tried to use the Jewish media, including ''Israel's Messenger'', to influence American opinion. Owing to financial difficulties, publication was suspended between February 1910 and September 1918, but the paper survived until its final issue appeared on 17 October 1941. The newspaper influenced the Jewish press in India. The Sargon brothers (Benjamin, Joseph, and David) of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, who were nephews of N.E.B. Ezra, grew up reading ''Israel's Messenger''. Greatly influenced by Ezra's journalistic concepts, the brothers edited the ''Jewish Advocate'' (later renamed the ''Jewish Tribune'') in the 1930s, bringing it to a much higher level of professionalism than the older Jewish newspapers of Bombay.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Microfilm of ''Israel's Messenger''
on Jewsofchina.org {{Foreign-language newspapers in China 1904 establishments in China 1941 disestablishments in China Defunct newspapers published in China Defunct Jewish newspapers Jewish Chinese history Jews and Judaism in Shanghai Newspapers published in Shanghai Newspapers established in 1904 Publications disestablished in 1941 Zionism in China Defunct English-language newspapers published in Asia