Hebrew Press Research Articles

From the Hebrew Press

This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.

From the Hebrew Press

This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.

From the Hebrew Press

This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.

From the Hebrew Press

From the Hebrew Press

From the Hebrew Press

This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.

“Paper Territory”

This article explores the political functions of eastern European Hebrew journalism in Jewish life in the second half of the nineteenth century. For the Jewish communities spread throughout the world and lacking central political and economic leadership, the press functioned as a virtual “town square, “facilitating the flow of information and the exchange of ideas. The Hebrew press, which had the potential to bridge language barriers between distinct Jewish communities, was characterized by its self-perception as a leader, a spokesman, and a public institute as well as its reflection of the “general-Israeli” spirit. This self-perception, combined with the characteristics of journalism as a mode of communication and the national legacy of the Hebrew language, contributed to the re-imaging of the Jewish nation in a modern and secular form.

The Case of the Hebrew Press

Following the scientific revolution, the modern perception of discourse assumed that text can and should reflect, in a literal way, objective reality as observed in the real world. This perception is radically different from a traditional religious perception of discourse in general and from the Jewish perception in particular. The Jewish traditional perception was based upon intertextual (and not empirical) models of inquiry and endeavored to uncover concealed levels within texts through analytical-philological methods. It is argued that the revival of Hebrew as a secular language went hand in hand with the adoption of the modern perception of discourse. This adoption involved a change in the relationship between text, knowledge, and reality within Jewish society, which found explicit expression in the Hebrew journals established in the middle of the 19th century.

Antisemitism, Statistics, and the Scientization of Hebrew Political Discourse: The Case Study of Ha-tsefirah

Over the past decade, the nineteenth-century engagement of Jews with statistics has become the subject matter for a growing body of literature within the field of Jewish studies.1 As the literature indicates, social scientists, influenced by the natural sciences, began using statistical data as a tool for legitimation and a source of hope for solving social problems. Jews became an important object of social-statistical studies, which were often used to justify antisemitic ideas. Jewish social scientists and physicians, who saw themselves as obligated to answer this "scientific antisemitism," used the same statistical tools to do so, and therefore helped to usher the Jewish people into the modern age of statistics.The adoption of such tools, however, though motivated by an apologetic need, had its own particular internal effects on Jewish studies and society. The focus of research so far has been on the role of scientists and physicians—small professional elites—in encouraging the use of statistics in Jewish public life. As a result, these studies have referred mainly to Central and West European communities rather than to those in Eastern Europe.2 Since Western Europe was, in fact, the source of these trends of scientization,3 it is only natural that this region would be of primary concern. In addition, the integration of Jews within non- Jewish societies, and especially among elite groups, occurred much earlier and was a more dominant phenomenon in Central and Western [End Page 55] Europe than in Eastern Europe. Therefore, focusing on the Central and Western elites indeed seems crucial to understanding these processes. As a result, however, the role of East European communities in encouraging the use of statistics—the social agents that encouraged this use, the implementation of this knowledge, and the unique characteristics of its spreading—has been understudied. In this article, I further explore the link between "scientific antisemitism" and the use of statistics as a tool within Jewish communities. I will especially stress the possible contribution of the use of statistics to change in political discourse. The contributions of this article to existing literature are twofold. First, the article takes the existing discussion of the role of statistics in Jewish life beyond Central and Western Europe and focuses on East European communities. Second, it emphasizes the role of popular discourse in the promotion of the use of statistics as illustrated through the Hebrew press. Focusing on the East European Hebrew press allows us to better understand the social narratives and hopes that accompanied the yearning for statistical knowledge in Jewish communities in general and in East European communities in particular, and also illuminates the role of the Hebrew press in bringing modern knowledge into Jewish life. I will focus here on the strategic use of statistics in political rhetoric —specifically in its response to antisemitic claims—as it is revealed through the journal Ha-tsefirah4 in the 1880s. This campaign was part of the political discourse in Ha-tsefirah, supervised by Nachum Sokolov, who was the second editor of Ha-tsefirah5 and, for years thereafter, one of the leaders of the Zionist Federation. Ha-tsefirah's original objective as a journal was to disseminate scientific and technological ideas among the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. It provided its readers with a window to new worlds—to natural and technological wonders. It presented these subjects in Hebrew6—the language of prayer of which the readers had at least minimal mastery. Ha-tsefirah thus aimed at opening areas of knowledge to the Jewish audience that were previously closed to them, written as they had mostly been in the countries' vernacular languages (Polish, Russian, etc.) in which few of the Jews had proficiency.7 Although Ha-tsefirah is by no means the only nineteenth-century Jewish journal to show interest in statistics, it reveals techniques for and a dedication to engaging with statistical knowledge that...

From the Hebrew Press

From the Hebrew Press

The first Hebrew newspapers in Europe. Economic and Organizational Aspects

The article describes the characteristics of the Hebrew press published in Europe in the second half of the XIXth century, as well as its special economic and organizational aspects. Although the Hebrew press emerged at the time of technological advances in printing, financial problems and the circulation limitation imposed by its linguistic distinctiveness were obstacles to success. Individual efforts of entrepreneurs and journalists had to mark step by step the way to modernization.

From the Hebrew Press

From the Hebrew Press

From the Hebrew Press

The following articles, three from the Israeli daily Ha'Aretz and one from a regular correspondent for the Israeli daily Yedi'ot Aharonot, published by the independent Internet forum openDemocracy (www.opendemocracy.net), were selected because they provide an unusually forthright Israeli Jewish perspective on Israeli government strategy and military actions against the Palestinians during Operation Defensive Shield and beyond.

From the Hebrew Press

The following articles, three from the Israeli daily Ha'Aretz and one from Israel's leading Russian-language paper, Vesti , were selected because they provide an unusually forthright Israeli Jewish perspective on the conditions and treatment of the Arab citizens of Israel and on Israeli Jewish attitudes toward Palestinians in general. The Ha'Aretz pieces were part of a five-article series on the mixed cities of Israel.

From the Hebrew Press

The following articles, all from the Israeli daily Ha'Aretz, were selected not only for a coverage of the al-Aqsa intifada largely unavailable in the American press, but because they shed light on enduring aspects of life since Oslo in the West Bank and Gaza and (for the Arab minority) in Israel proper. Three of the articles are written by Amira Hass, who has lived in the occupied territories since 1993-the only Israeli journalist to do so.

When Prophesy Always Fails: Israeli Press Coverage of the Arab Minority's Land Day Protests

This study examines how the Hebrew press in Israel covers the annual Land Day protest carried out by the Arab minority in that country. The protest is rooted in a 1976 incident in which six Arab citizens were killed in a clash over government confiscation of land. Across 21 years of coverage, the Hebrew press consistently has used the days leading up to the protest to exaggerate the threat posed by the protest despite the fact that little violence has ever taken place. Land Day has become an annual ritual of vilification. The struggle over media frames of collective action, it is argued, often entails a contest between challengers attempting to promote an injustice frame and the authorities who want to promote a law and order frame. News routines for covering minorities especially ones with low levels of social legitimacy ensure that such protests almost always will be seen as a threat to law and order. Based on in-depth interviews with both Arab and Jewish informants and a content analysis of news coverage, the research demonstrates how such routines make it almost impossible for Arab citizens to promote their own frames about Land Day.

Hebrew Culture in America: 80 Years of Hebrew Culture in the United States 1916-1995 (review)

Hebrew Studies 41 (2000) 361 Reviews more contemporary plays, the Fascist experience is used as a warning to (and even, provocatively, as the counterpart of) the Israeli over-inflated nationalist ego. Abramson meticulously charts the different genres that Israeli drama has used in its journey from dogmatic idealism to political protest, portraying as well the broad canvass of Israel's cultural and intellectual life. This study displays the author's admirable command of the nuances of dramatic expression and the subtleties of shifting ideological and political currents in modem Israel Nehama Aschkenasy University ofConnecticut. Stamford Stamford. CT 06901 naschkenasy@stamford.uconn.edu HEBREW CULTURE IN AMERICA: 80 YEARS OF HEBREW CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES 1916-1995 [Hebrew]. By Moshe Pelli. pp. 392. Tel Aviv: Reshaflm, 1998. Paper, $30.00. During World War I, many leading intellectuals and writers of Hebrew from both Eastern Europe and Palestine fled to the United States for safety. Their arrival generated new excitement for efforts underway by the community of Hebrew writers and enthusiasts who were already established in America. As a result of their combined efforts, the Histadrut Ivrit (Hebrew Language and Culture Association of America) was instituted in 1916 as an umbrella organization to promote the development and spread of Hebrew culture in America. Moshe Pelli's meticulously researched book, Hebrew Culture in America: 80 Years of Hebrew Culture in the United States 1916-1995, documents the personae, institutions and publications of this organization over a period of eighty years. From its inception, as Pelli details, the Histadrut Ivrit was fraught with conflict over defming its goals and nature. Lively debates ensued over whether the movement was to strive for popular support or rather to pursue high literature and culture, and whether to utilize limited funds for publications or educational programs. Indeed, readers of this journal may recall Pelli's 1995 article analyzing conflicting ideologies during the early years of the Histadrut Ivrit (Hebrew Studies 36:73-85), a study which represents only a small fraction of the detailed treatment the issues receive in Hebrew Studies 41 (2000) 362 Reviews the book. Following a decade of development, the Histadrut Ivrit entered a phase of extensive growth from the 1930s through the 1960s. due in part to the success of its youth movement in attracting a new generation of Hebrew enthusiasts to fill its ranks. The organization's activities began to decline in the late 1960s as the generation of founders dwindled in numbers. At the same time. the Histadrut Ivrit saw an increased involvement by Israeli educators in America. as well as by leaders of religiously-oriented Jewish educational institutions. In its latest transformation the Histadrut Ivrit has shifted its mission from cultural development to professional service in light of continued membership shrinkage through the 1990s. This noteworthy study presents a detailed institutional history of the Histadrut Ivrit. an organization in which the author has been involved in various capacities since his arrival in the United States as a student in 1957. The sources informing this work are drawn primarily from reports appearing in the American Hebrew press over a period of eight decades. as well as from interviews. correspondence and personal files of participants. since the Histadrut Ivrit did not keep archives of its activities. The book contextualizes this particular. idiosyncratic American Jewish subculture within the great upheavals of world Jewry. the establishment of the State of Israel. and the cultural. demographic, and linguistic shifts experienced by the American Jewish community. As the book documents, even as the Yishuv and later the State of Israel became the center of Hebrew cultural activity, Hebrew letters remained vibrant and active in America. It should be noted that this book represents only half of the project outlined by the author in the introduction. Pelli describes this volume as a chronicle of the institution of the Histadrut Ivrit, and promises a second volume to follow containing critical essays. However, even given these qualifications, the reader wishes for a little more critical analysis alongside the historical material. For example, the author's synthesis of the evidence surrounding the abortive attempt to implement and sustain a Hebrew daily in 1921-1922 provides the reader with a great...

A Long-Run View of Israeli Society through the Looking Glass of Mourning Announcements in the Press

This study analyzes death (‘mourning’) announcements published in the Hebrew press in twentieth century Mandatory Palestine and Israel within the context of a decades-long social and cultural transformation. It discusses the process of diffusion of these announcements, the shifting forms of postmortem allocation of prestige, trends of inclusion and exclusion, the variable functions of the announcements and the extent to which public notice of death has been increasingly or decreasingly monitored by friendship, kinship, asso-ciational and occupational networks.

How the Hebrew press is censored

As controls over the Israeli press have become more stringent, journalists have also grown more defiant. The editor of the London-based Israeli Mirror reports

Stanley Nash. In Search of Hebraism: Shai Hurwitz and His Polemics in the Hebrew Press. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980. 410 pp.

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In Search of Hebraism: Shai Hurwitz and his Polemics in the Hebrew Press Stanley Nash Studies in Judaism in Modern Times, 3 Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980. Pp. 412

In Search of Hebraism: Shai Hurwitz and his Polemics in the Hebrew Press Stanley Nash Studies in Judaism in Modern Times, 3 Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980. Pp. 412