Algemeiner Journal

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]

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, Times of Israel 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]

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]

• The Forward