Conference: Marking 20 Years of the Historical Jewish Press Project

The press has long been a cornerstone of modern Jewish culture. Its political, cultural, and social influence as a formative force across diverse Jewish communities over the last few centuries is difficult to overstate. Wherever Jews lived—and in every language they spoke and wrote—newspapers, bulletins, and journals emerged to reflect the local stories of Jewish life and the wider communities around them, while also forging connections between Jewish centers around the world.

Twenty years ago, the National Library of Israel and Tel Aviv University embarked on a pioneering digital initiative – the Historical Jewish Press—one of the first major digital initiatives in the field of Jewish studies. The project’s goal was to carry out wide-ranging digitization and provide advanced tools for users to access and search a vast array of Jewish newspapers from around the globe.

What began with a handful of titles from North Africa and  Israel has grown over two decades into the leading archive of its kind.  Today, the database offers free and direct access to millions of pages of Jewish newspapers from Israel, Australia, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Libya, Mexico, Romania, and more—in languages including Hebrew, Arabic, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish, Ladino, Russian, French, English, Spanish, Persian, Hungarian, and others. The collection offers a full spectrum of Jewish life: from Marxist and Zionist publications to Orthodox and Anarchist press, clandestine underground papers, and more.

The Historical Jewish Press collection has evolved from a modest local initiative into a global endeavor. Through the collaboration of the National Library of Israel, Tel Aviv University, and a wide network of libraries, universities, and research institutes worldwide, it has become an unparalleled digital archive and research resource. The conference celebrates the 20th anniversary of this groundbreaking initiative. Together with scholars, journalists, and educators who will share how the Historical Jewish Press collection has influenced their research and creativity, we will reflect on its history, discuss its impact, and look towards its future.

At this conference, we will mark twenty years of the initiative. We’ll revisit its early days and reflect on its role, impact, and future. Researchers, writers, journalists, and educators will share their work and insights—demonstrating how their engagement with the site has shaped their scholarship and creativity.

Opening Session | Monday, May 12

17:30 – Doors open

18:00 – Welcome & Opening Remarks

Oren Weinberg (Director General, National Library of Israel)
Naama Scheftelowitz (Director of the Sourasky Central Library, Tel Aviv University)

18:20 – “From the Heights of the Paper Towers” – Keynote speech by Haim Be’er

19:00 – "Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Evolution of the Historical Jewish Press Project"

Panel discussion moderated by Eyal Miller (National Library of Israel), featuring:

• Yaron Tsur (Tel Aviv University, Co-Founder and Academic Director of Historical Jewish Press)

• Orly Simon (Head of Library Processes Division, National Library of Israel, and Co-Founder of Historical Jewish Press)

Conference Day Three | Wednesday, May 14

9:00 – Doors open

9:30–11:00 – "Clearing Out the Old Because of the New?"

Chair: Immanuel Etkes (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

• Kimmy Kaplan (Bar-Ilan University): Studying the Haredi Press - Images, Reality, and Challenges

• Yuval Haruvi (Tel Aviv University, Orot Israel College, and Jerusalem College): From Poltava to Jerusalem: The Historical Depth of the Haredi Press as Reflected in HaModia (1910–1915) and According to the View of the Gerrer Rebbe, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter

• Yaron Zilberstein (Hemdat College of Education): The Historical Jewish Press Database as a Tool for Halakhic Research: Between Halakhah in Action and Halakhah in Books

 

Break

 

11:30–12:15 – Between Continents and Languages: The Jewish Press as a Historical Source
A scholarly conversation between David Guedj (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Guy Miron (Open University of Israel)

 

Break

 

12:30–14:00 – Connecting Collections: The Historical Jewish Press as a Hub for International Collaboration

Chair: Caron Sethill (National Library of Israel)

• Michelle Margolis Chesner (Columbia University): Collaboration Solves (Almost) Everything: MaRLI and the American Jewish Press

• Kerstin von der Krone (Goethe University Frankfurt): Compact Memory – Building a pioneering digital collection of (German) Jewish Press through collaborations

• Lara Lampert (National Library of Lithuania)

• Līva Vē (National Library of Latvia)

• Biljana Albahari (National Library of Serbia)

• Lyudmila Sholokhova (New York Public Library)

Please note – This session will be held in English.

 

14:00–15:00 – Lunch break

 

15:00–16:30 – "Within the Pages of Time Lost"
(from “Imperiot Noflot Le'at” / Meir Goldberg)

A Different Look at the Jewish Press in the 20th Century

Chair: Noah Gerber (Tel Aviv University)

• Ouzi Elyada (University of Haifa): How to Build the Chronology of the History of  the Hebrew Press in Israel: 1863-2025 

• Lilach Turgeman (Bar-Ilan University and University of Haifa): Hed ha-Ma'arav: Accessing the Voices of North African Olim through a Digitized Newspaper 

• Gilad Halpern (Ben-Gurion University):  The First Rough Draft of History? Reflections on the Study Of Newspapers and the Study of Journalism

 

Break

 

16:45–17:30 – “What Was World War I Called in 1930?” The Historical Jewish Press Archive as a Tool for Teaching and Learning

Neta Shapira (Head of Education, National Library of Israel)

Closing Session

18:00–19:30 – "They Wrote About Him in the Newspaper"

(From Katvu Alav Ba'Iton / Arik Einstein & Shalom Hanoch)

 

The Jew and the Newspaper, Then and Now

Moderator: Vered Lyon-Yerushalmi (Spokesperson, National Library of Israel)

Participants: Israel Bartal, Nahum Barnea, Ravit Hecht, Oren Nahari, Haggai Segal