Gershon DovBer Jacobson (May 30, 1934 – May 29, 2005) was the founder, editor and publisher of '' Der Algemeiner Journal'', one of the largest

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

-language

weekly newspapers Weekly refers to a repeating event happening once a week Weekly, The Weekly, or variations, may also refer to: News media * ''Weekly'' (news magazine), an English-language national news magazine published in Mauritius *Weekly newspaper, any news ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. He died at the age of 70 and lived in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on May 30, 1933, Jacobson began his journalistic career in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

writing for French newspapers following the war in the early 1950s. In 1952, he and his family moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

then to New York City. In 1953, Jacobson moved to the United States where he became the city editor for Der Tog Morgen Journal (The Daily Jewish Journal), one of the largest daily Yiddish newspapers (formed at that time through the union of the two dailies ''

Der Tog ''Der Tog'' () was a Yiddish-language daily newspaper published in New York City from 1914 until 1971. The offices of ''Der Tog'' were located on the Lower East Side, at 185 and 187 East Broadway. History The newspaper's first issue was on Nov ...

'' and ''Der Morgen Zshurnal''). Gershon Jacobson also worked as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune and in the 1960s replaced

Elie Wiesel Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel (September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates#1980, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel bibliogra ...

as the UN correspondent for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's largest daily, Yediot Acharonot. In 1972 he founded The Algemeiner Journal, the largest Yiddish weekly newspaper, which he published and edited till his death on May 29, 2005. The paper, printed in Yiddish with a four-page English supplement, has a circulation of 18,000. Jacobson received an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and a graduate degree from the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Graduate School of Journalism. He worked on The

Herald-Tribune ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers. ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia * ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily * '' Barossa and Light Heral ...

from the late 1950s until it ceased publication in 1966. After the Tribune ceased publication, Jacobson moved to the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' and then to ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', and was later city editor for Der Tog-Morgen Journal, a Yiddish-language daily. After Der Tog closed in late 1971, he founded Der Algemeiner Journal. His three sons,

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, Baruch Sholom and Yosef Yitzchok, are all rabbis in

. His two daughters are Freida Hecht of Norwalk, CT and Chanie Krasnianski of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

NYC New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive wit ...

, NY.

References

External links

Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity FoundationDer Algemeiner Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Gershon 1934 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male journalists American male non-fiction writers Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers