''Hamagid'' (; ), also known after 1893 as ''Hamagid LeIsrael'' (), was the first

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

weekly newspaper. It featured mostly current events, feature articles, a section on

Judaic studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; ) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (especially Jewish history), Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Ori ...

, and, in its heyday, discussions of social issues. Published between 1856 and 1903, it first appeared in Lyck,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

and targeted

Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

, but was soon redistributed all over Europe and the Jewish world. Although it only had a peak circulation of 1,800 copies, it's primarily remembered as beginning the modern day Hebrew language press. It is hard to estimate its true readership, as in its era one copy would pass through many hands. Eliezer Lipman Silbermann

''Hamagid'' carried global and Jewish news in Hebrew, either translated, or as original reporting. It was also the first newspaper to publish

op-eds An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted au ...

in Hebrew. The founder and first editor of ''Hamagid'' was Eliezer Lipman Zilbermann (1819 – 1882). He is credited with bringing the social issue of the ''

agunot An aguna or agunah (, plural: , ''ʿaḡunoṯ'') is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her marriage as determined by traditional halakha (Jewish law). The classic case is a man who has left on a journey and has not returned or has gone into battle ...

'' to the forefront of reader's minds, and he made the issue one of the most important topics in the paper. 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. From the 1860s, the paper "fervently" supported resettlement of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

for a combination of religious and nationalistic reasons, making the paper an early nucleus of the

Zionist movement Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly co ...

. David Gordon (1831 – 1886), formerly deputy editor, became editor in 1880, and his son became deputy editor. He held the position of editor until his death in 1886. After the death of his father, Dov Gordon continued as editor until 1890, until Yaacov Shmuel Fux took over, who edited between 1890 and 1903 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. ''Hamagid'' moved twice: first to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1890, then to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

in 1892. After moving to Kraków, its readership declined, partly due to censorship by Russian authorities. It finally closed in 1903. In its twilight years, its '' de facto'' editor was Shimʻon Menaḥem Lazar'','' although Fux kept the title of editor until the end''.'' Post-1892, ''Hamagid'' found itself largely supplanted by other Hebrew language newspapers like ''

Ha-Melitz ''HaMelitz'' (Hebrew: ) was the first Hebrew newspaper in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Alexander Zederbaum in Odessa in 1860. History ''HaMelitz'' first appeared as a weekly, and it began to appear daily in 1886. From 1871, it was publis ...

'' and ''

Ha-Tsfira ''Ha-Tsfira'' () was a Hebrew-language newspaper published in Poland in 1862 and 1874–1931. History The first issue of ''Ha-Tsfira'' appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski. ''Ha-Tsfira'' was the first Hebr ...

.''

References

External links

Online, searchable ''Hamagid'' editions
from the

Historical Jewish Press Historical Jewish Press is an online archive of historical newspapers written and published by Jews. The database enables, through digitization, virtual access to the Hebrew press in most of its years of existence, starting from the late 18th Cent ...

{{Authority control 1856 establishments in Prussia Newspapers established in 1856 Defunct Hebrew-language newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Germany Newspapers disestablished in the 1900s Publications disestablished in 1903 Defunct newspapers published in Poland Mass media in Berlin Mass media in Kraków

See also

References

External links