80 Fridmitly12,1978

THE DETRINTJEWISN NUNS

The People of the Book And the Newspaper

By BURT HEIIKACH

snatched up. But the rea -
As a non-party paper, it
sons for their appeal are claims to have distin-
In Israel, if you're spoil - much more complicated
•
guished
itself over the years
• -= --774
ing for an argument, just
Y iot
Yed
a "tabloid",
a
an
cii for its objective and high
walk around with the
standard
of
political
obser-
ea
sy
easy
to
and
to read
masthead of your favorite
newspaper clearly visible, format. The style of Hebrew vation, not to mention its
and chances are you'll soon it displays is more in tune literary section. The col-
fmd someone to tell you that with the speech of the aver- umns of Haaretz have
your politics are hopelessly age Israeli than are the helped launch a few famous
styles of most other papers. writing careers over the
out of line.
Or if you are a newcomer Even newcomers can soon years.
Haaretz, too, has its cri-
to Israel and you fmd your- master its language after a
self at a newsstand in one of short time in the country, or tics, both because of its
political
stands and for
the country's largest cities, after a good Hebrew course.
Maariv on the other hand, its revelations on the
you can be faced with a very
.11Zims
tough decision — which ilses a slightly more compli- seedier side of Israeli life
cated style, and has a more (for example, a recent
daily to buy.
series
on
the
police).
7Le 316tttnal
traditional
broadsheet
for-
This can present a bit of a
Rounding out the free
5.. r .a
problem because there are mat. Graphically, they are
press
is
an
economic
daily
no fewer than 11 of them in both advanced, and even
„
so
Hebrew. Since there isn't a "splashy" by traditionally called Yom Yom, with a
tft. I
H
••v •C
very limited circulation; a
t I
o1.111 ;
"gutter press" in Israel, it's staid Israeli standards.
•
sports paper that boasts of a
a pretty safe bet that any They also hit the streets at a
high
number
of
readers-
one of them will give a good time of day when a lot of
summary of local and inter- business and shopping is in Hadashot Hasport; and
Omer, a popular vowelized
national events without too full swing.
A country founded on daily in easier Hebrew for
much bombast.
The next question you socialistic labor tenets quite new immigrants, put out
dependence, the Hebrew of over 20,000. Al Quds- coming from Bulgaria. A
must ask yourself, as- understandably has to have under the auspices of
press would have succeeded Jerusalem manages to
completely independent
Davar.
a
newspaper
to
express
that
in erasing some of the turn out that amount political stance may be part
suming of course that you
Most of the papers have
do want to make the ef- viewpoint. Actually there
competition. But the rules every day. These organs of the reason for its contin-
enlarged
editions
on
Friday
fort of reading Hebrew, is are two. The Labor Union's
of simple attrition do not have an obvious informa-
ued life with a mere circula-
hold sway in the Jewish tional and political ap- tion of 4,000 daily.
which viewpoint you (Histadrut) Davar ad- for "weekend reading", in-
state. The explanation be- peal for Arab com-
would like to see by the dresses itself primarily to cluding magazine sections,
One might think that a
literary pages, etc. The pap-
hind the success of so many munities, and are read to Yiddish paper would have
time you get to the edito- its own membership in town
papers in so many lan- some extent by Jews greater currency here than
rial section. On the other and country and will print ers have their own car-
guages must be sought in whose origins and native that enjoyed by the inde-
hand, you might want to many news stories about toonists, many of whom
the fundamental reason for language are Arabic.
discover what the oppos- labor. The Mapam-owned compare favorably to their
pendent Letzte Nyes. Its
ition has up its sleeve, so Al Hamishmar is concerned counterparts abroad in
amazingly low press run of
the
establishment of In English we have the
you'll have to know just also with labor matters, but terms of standard and popu-
16,000 certainly belies the
Israel—the Law of Return. Jerusalem Post, considered
larity.
where you don't stand in tends to address itself more
Every Jew on the face of the by some to be the "dean" of universality Yiddish
Throughout all these
order to make a choice to the Hashomer Hatzair
enjoyed
before the
planet
who
wants
to,
can
not
•
the
foreign
language
Israeli
kibutzim, where every fam- papers, there is a basic un-
here.
only come to Israel, but take press. The Post has an obvi-
Holocaust.
Then there is always the ily receives it day by day. Al dercurrent of Israeli
out
full
citizenship.
This
ous
appeal
for
thousands
of
In
Polish
the Nowinz
easy way out. You have 13 Hamishmar will naturally ideology—a tone of Zionism
legalism is taken for immigrants and tourists
Kurier nourishes itself on a
granted in a place that has from English-speaking
more daily papers in Arabic, arrange its news contents to in its various streams. They
circulation of 12,000; and
operate freely, with censor-
French, English and seven reflect its leftist approach.
more than tripled its popu- countries, and for others
the Hungarian Uj Kelet
ship restricted to matters
other tongues. If one of
lation since 1948. from smaller nations like sustains life with a daily
touching
upon
national
The
religious
parties
Disparagingly referred
these is not native to you,
figure
of 18,000. 22,000 _
Finland, Sweden or Argen-
to as the "Immigrant
then perhaps it might be at also have their papers. security, but the basic
daily copies of the Rouma-
tins whose second language
Press" in the early years
least more familiar than Hatzofeh tends to voice premise of being able to say
nian Viata Noastra reflect
the opinions of the Na- whatever one wants in a re-
of statehood, many ob- is English. It is also read by
H b
the opinions of the Labor
diplomats, foreign corre-
sponsible way, holds.
servers of the flourishing
Assuming though that tional Religious Party,
Party in editorials and news
spondents,
businessmen
The
survival
of
so
many
while
Ha'modia
and
literary scene were con-
you do persevere and make
arrangements. Labor in fact
organs is a mystery to
vinced that the Hebrew from abroad, etc.
your Hebrew choice, you Shearim are papers con-
Enjoying a daily circula- controls most of the foreign
many newcomers and
will discover a depth and nected to Agudat Yisrael
paPers,
numbering
11
language press.
visitors. Circulation fig-
day, would gradually tion of 26,000, the Post also
variety of coverage that for and Poalei Agudat Yis-
rael respectively.
ures are certainly not
Rounding out the press
supplant the foreign Ian- has a weekly air-mail edi-
the most part, completely
large by western
gunge efforts. The rea- tion for its overseas readers picture is Yediot
overshadows the foreign
Graphically, the religious
soning was that as im- with an even larger circula- Hadashot, which in spite
language efforts. Take the and the labor publications standards, although the
Friday press runs of up to
migrants learned the tion. That however, is of its Hebrew name, is
two mass dailies, Yediot are far from exciting. They
290,000 each for Yediot
country's language they merely a condensed re-print printed in German.
Ahronot and Maariv, both are also printed on broad-
of the previous seven days Founded in 1936, this
and Maariv are notewor-
would naturally shift to output.
late morning or afternoon sheets and have circula- thy. Perhaps the best ex-
organ boasts a circula-
the more comprehensive,
products.
tions of from 5,000 to 35,000 planation can be found
Smaller readerships can tion of 18,000, and claims
better staffed, and more
Maariv actually grew out daily, with a slight increase
be
found
in
the
other
lin-
by simply realizing that
a
press run of 24,000 for
graphically presented
of Yediot when its founder for their Friday editions.
guistic representations. The Fridays.
the free press in Israel is
Hebrew mass dailies.
left the parent organ back in
Haaretz, the most liter- as diversified as the
broadsheet, Nasha Strana,
1948. His move was a stroke ary and without a doubt, the country's polyglot popu-
If we realize that more
To a certain extent, of Russian. for "Our Land",
course, this happened. But and Ophloz, a slightly
of financial genius since most prestigious of Israeli lation.
than 50 percent of the
Maariv now enjoys the dailies, doesn't have a par-
the ever-increasing num- smaller effort with a tabloid world's Jews are native
As if this baffling daily
bers of new arrivals
largest circulation of any ticularly large circulation, barrage were not enough,
English speakers, and that
breathed life into many an format, both enjoy modest over 65 percent of all Jewish
paper in Israel, with Yediot but its importance on the - remember that there are
ethnic effort just when it circulations catering to the papers are in that language,
running a close second.
Hebrew press scene is hard 300 Hebrew magazines, and
seemed on the verge of ex- needs of thousands of new it is not perhaps surprising
Veteran Israeli jour- to over-estimate. Originally an additional 150 periodi-
arrivals from the Soviet
tinction.
nalists attribute the huge called Hadashot, the paper cals in at least a dozen lan-
after all, that in Israel the
Union.
A quick rundown of to-
circulations of both pap- was started in British Man- guages for the avaricious
old spirit of imparting in-
L'Information, the formation in the most effi-
day's active press in Israel
ers to their independent date times by Eliezer Ben- reading public to ponder.
will not only serve to illus- French enterprise, man- cient and understandable
political stands. (All of Yehuda and his son. Since
Meanwhile, the foreign
trate the polyglot character ages to put out slightly way possible also prevails.
the circulation figures Ben-Yehuda is popularly I anguage press, of the
of the nation, but will give over 10,000 copies a day.
are taken from "Editor a cknowledged as the re- home-grown variety, is
A similar statistic here is
some insight into the histor- Immigrants from North reflected again in the Law of
and Publisher Year- viver of Hebrew as a spoken alive and well in the state of
ical spirit of Jewish Africa who also read the Return and the fact that
book" for 1976.) That cer- and written language, the Israel. In fact, it is not just
journalism — a spirit which Arabic papers, turn to only around 50 percent of
tainly is a factor for the p aper has been more or less e xisting, it is thriving.
began in 1675 with the first L'Information, an organ the people living in Israel
nearly 170,000 daily bound to follow a tradition
One might think that
issue of the bi-language established in 1957 at the are native speakers of
copies of each that are o f linguistic excellence.
with nearly 30 years of in-
Spanish and Ladino height of immigration Hebrew—either through
from those "Oriental" birth, or through immigra-
"Gazeta de Amsterdam".
Today there are two countries. -Detractors tion at a very young age.
Arabic papers published in thought L'Information
So the foreign press sur-
east Jerusalem with circu- would pass on to oblivion vives indeed! Only time, the
lations rivalling those of at the same time as the success of the aliya move-
some of the smaller Hebrew small Bulgarian daily, Is- ment in the West, future
dailies like the religious raelski Far Tribuna. But patterns of anti-Semitism
HaZofeh or the leftist Al the "experts" were con- in the world, and the waves
founded in both cases.
Hamishmar.
of immigration stimulated
Al Anba doubles its
Set up in 1958, Tribuna by those and other factors,
weekly circulation on still thrives, in spite of the can reveal the fate of these
Fridays with a press run relative cessation of people 10 mirrors of our times.

World Zionist Organization

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