Hamagid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Hamagid
File:Hamagid22.jpg
TypeWeekly newspaper
Founded1856 (1856)
Ceased publication1903
Political alignmentZionism
LanguageHebrew
HeadquartersLyck, East Prussia
CountryEast Prussia
Free online archivesOnline, searchable Hamagid editions from the Historical Jewish Press

Hamagid (Hebrew: הַמַּגִּיד; lit.'the Declarer'),[1] also known after 1893 as Hamagid LeIsrael (הַמַּגִּיד לְיִשְׂרָאֵל‎),[2] was the first Hebrew language weekly newspaper.[3][4] It featured mostly current events, feature articles,[5] a section on Judaic studies,[6] and, in its heyday, discussions of social issues.[7] Published between 1856 and 1903,[3] it first appeared in Lyck, East Prussia and targeted Russian Jews, but was soon redistributed all over Europe and the Jewish world.[3] Although it only had a peak circulation of 1,800 copies, it's primarily remembered as beginning the modern day Hebrew language press.[3] It is hard to estimate its true readership, as in its era one copy would pass through many hands.[2]

File:Eliezer Lipman Silbermann.jpg
Eliezer Lipman Zilbermann, founding editor of Hamagid
File:Gordon David.jpg
David Gordon, first deputy editor of Hamagid, and editor between 1880 and 1886

Hamagid carried global and Jewish news in Hebrew, either translated, or as original reporting.[1] It was also the first newspaper to publish op-eds in Hebrew.[1]

The founder and first editor of Hamagid was Eliezer Lipman Zilbermann (1819 – 1882).[7] He is credited with bringing the social issue of the agunot to the forefront of reader's minds, and he made the issue one of the most important topics in the paper.[7] A frequent contributor to the weekly was Moses Vita Ascarelli; under the pen name, "Emet le-Ya'akov," he wrote articles on the condition of Italian Jews under Pope Pius IX.[8] From the 1860s, the paper "fervently" supported resettlement of the Land of Israel for a combination of religious and nationalistic reasons, making the paper an early nucleus of the Zionist movement.[3]

David Gordon (1831 – 1886),[1] formerly deputy editor, became editor in 1880, and his son became deputy editor.[2] He held the position of editor until his death in 1886.[3][7] After the death of his father, Dov Gordon continued as editor until 1890,[7] until Yaacov Shmuel Fux took over, who edited between 1890 and 1903[7][2] and whose sole focus was on cultural and political issues, and not social issues as previous editors had focused on, in the footsteps of Zilbermann.[7]

Hamagid moved twice: first to Berlin in 1890, then to Kraków in 1892.[3] After moving to Kraków, its readership declined, partly due to censorship by Russian authorities.[2] It finally closed in 1903.[3] In its twilight years, its de facto editor was Shimʻon Menaḥem Lazar,[3] although Fux kept the title of editor until the end.[7]

Post-1892, Hamagid found itself largely supplanted by other Hebrew language newspapers like Ha-Melitz and Ha-Tsfira.[3]

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).