 | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity Foundation |
| Founder(s) | Gershon Jacobson |
| Publisher | Simon Jacobson |
| Editor | Dovid Efune |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Circulation | 23,000 [1] |
| Website | algemeiner |
The Algemeiner Journal, known informally as The Algemeiner, is a newspaper based in New York City that covers American and international Jewish and Israel-related news. It is widely read by Hasidic Jews.
Gershon Jacobson, a former reporter for the New York Herald-Tribune , founded the Yiddish-language Der Algemeiner Journal after consulting the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. [2] [3]
Der Algemeiner Journal Corporation published the inaugural issue on February 23, 1972. The ten-page paper was priced at 25 cents. Twenty thousand issues were printed. The corporation's goal was to promote Jewish identity and information to American Jewry. [4] Der Algemeiner Journal intended to fill the gap after the daily Yiddish paper Der Tog Morgen Zhurnal closed in 1971. [5] Jacobson had earlier written and served as its city editor. [6] The largest-circulation Yiddish weekly in the United States, [6] Der Algemeiner Journal emphasized Jewish community news, with a politically independent viewpoint, including reporting on tensions between rival Hasidic sects. Although Jacobson was a Lubavitcher Chasid, [7] according to The New York Times , he "defied easy categorization." [2]
At its peak, Der Algemeiner's circulation neared 100,000. In 1989, in response to the increasing marginalization of Yiddish in the Jewish community, Der Algemeiner Journal began printing a four-page English supplement in the middle of the paper, attracting a more diverse Jewish audience. [8] [2]
The Algemeiner's advisory board was chaired by Nobel laureate, writer, and activist Elie Wiesel. [9]
Jacobson served as the paper's editor and publisher until his death in 2005, [2] and Gershon's elder son Simon Jacobson became the publisher. He founded the Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity Foundation (GJCF), a Jewish media organization with the mission to serve as a voice for Jews and Israel. [10] At this time, circulation was approximately 18,000. [2]
In 2008, Jacobson reconceived Der Algemeiner Journal as an English-language publication, replacing the Yiddish "Der" in the title for "The". That year, Dovid Efune became the editor-in-chief of what was called The Algemeiner and Director of the GJCF. [11] Efune left his position in November 2021 to join The New York Sun , but remained on the board. [12]
In 2012, the GJCF launched the website Algemeiner.com. [13]
The Algemeiner print edition is published every Friday, except during Passover and Sukkot. In 2023, its circulation is about 23,000. [14] It is widely read by Hasidic Jews, for whom Yiddish is the daily language. [2]
During the United States presidency of George Bush, Sr., Algemeiner had among the harshest editorial lines on the Bush administration's efforts in the Israel-Palestinian peace process to roll back settlements. This perspective placed the publication outside the Jewish mainstream at the time. [15]
In 2020, Reuters reported that Algemeiner and The Jerusalem Post had published op-eds credited to "Oliver Taylor", a fabricated "reporter" whose identity could not be verified, and was thought to be "created by similar machine learning methods used to create deepfakes". [16] One of the opinion articles by this fake author called Mazen Masri, a legal scholar at City University London, [17] and his wife, Ryvka Barnard, a Palestinian human rights activist, "known terrorist sympathizers", which both denied. [18]
In 2020, Algemeiner editor-in-chief Dovid Efune said the publication is largely funded by small donors who support the site's message. [19]
The Algemeiner began hosting its "Jewish 100" gala in 2014, an elaboration on its annual dinner. [20] Donald Trump and Melissa Rivers headlined the 2015 event, presenting short speeches and accepting awards for Algemeiner's recognition of their support of the Jewish people and Israel. [21] The Algemeiner unveils its annual "J100" list at a gala, honoring 100 people that have positively influenced Jewish life. [22] [23] [24]
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an Orthodox rabbi and the most recent Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups and Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad operates mainly in the wider world and caters to secularized Jews.
A Rebbe or Admor is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties. The titles of Rebbe and Admor, which used to be a general honor title even before the beginning of the movement, became, over time, almost exclusively identified with its Tzaddikim.
Yosef YitzchakSchneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe, the Rebbe RaYYaTz, or the Rebbe Rayatz. After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life.
Beth Rivkah, formally known as Associated Beth Rivkah Schools, is a private girls' school system affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Kehot Publication Society is the publishing division of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Chaya Mushka (Moussia) Schneerson, referred to by Lubavitchers as The Rebbetzin, was the wife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh and last rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism. She was the second of three daughters of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. She was named after the wife of the third Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneersohn.
Ohel is a structure built around a Jewish grave as a sign of prominence of the deceased. Ohelim cover the graves of some Hasidic Rebbes, important rabbis, tzadikim, prominent Jewish community leaders, and biblical figures. Typically a small masonry building, an ohel may include room for visitors to pray, meditate, and light candles in honor of the deceased.
Mashpia or feminine Mashpi'oh lit. "person of influence", pl. Mashpi'im is the title of a Hasidic rabbi who serves as a spiritual mentor, whose main influence and teachings are in matters of the worship of God, the correction of virtues and spiritual elevation.
Messianism in Chabad refers to the contested beliefs among some members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah. Some members of the Chabad community believe that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the deceased seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is the Jewish messiah. The issue remains controversial within both the Chabad movement and the broader Jewish community.
Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.
Likkutei Sichos, literally, "Collected Talks" contains both the scope and the core of the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and is the most authoritative source-text for Schneerson's way of explaining Judaism and the world writ large.
Simon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life and publisher of the weekly Algemeiner Journal. Jacobson is a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Gershon Jacobson was the founder, editor and publisher of Der Algemeiner Journal, one of the largest Yiddish-language weekly newspapers in North America. He died at the age of 70 and lived in Brooklyn.
Chabad philosophy comprises the teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement. Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments.
Chabad customs and holidays are the practices, rituals and holidays performed and celebrated by adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. The customs, or minhagim and prayer services are based on Lurianic kabbalah. The holidays are celebrations of events in Chabad history. General Chabad customs, called minhagim, distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups.
Nissan Mindel was a Chabad Hasidic rabbi, author, editor, and served on the administrative staff of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Toward a Meaningful Life is a book authored by Chabad Hasidic writer Simon Jacobson. The book became the basis of a six-part course titled Toward a Meaningful Life: A Soul-Searching Journey for Every Jew by the Jewish Learning Institute. The book elucidates the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of Chabad.
Yisroel Jacobson (1895-1975) was a Chabad Hasidic rabbi and the representative of the sixth Chabad rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first Lubavitcher activists to arrive in to the United States. He was born in Russia and migrated to the United States in 1925.
Yosef Yitzchak "Yossi" Jacobson, also known as YY Jacobson, is an American Chabad rabbi and speaker from Monsey, New York.
In 2008, the Algemeiner was restructured as an English publication, and current editor David Efune was appointed. He is also the director of GJCF, which launched the publication's website in 2011.
the author of multiple editorials in the Jerusalem Post and the Times of Israel was revealed to be a fabricated mouthpiece for parties unknown, his image created by similar machine-learning methods used to create deepfakes.
