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.
 | |
| 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 |
History
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]
Content and circulation
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 H. W. Bush, 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]
Annual events and lists
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]