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.
On May 12-14, the library will hold a conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 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.
What began with a handful of titles from North Africa and Israel has grown over two decades into the leading archive of its kind. Earlier this year, NLI added the Intermountain Jewish News’ existing digital archive to its collection.
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.
One of its newest partners is the IJN, whose archive through 1969 is housed physically at the Library, and now digitally, too. Funding for the IJN’s digital archive has come through History Colorado and Rose Community Foundation.
Earlier this year, the IJN facilitated a conversation between NLI and Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, which houses the IJN’s digital archive. That conversation led to an agreement between both of the institutions to allow for the IJN’s digital archives to be shared with NLI.
“We’re thrilled that our digital archive is now also available via NLI,” said IJN Assistant Publisher Shana Goldberg.
“Within the Jewish world, non-coastal North American communities are often overlooked. With the IJN freely accessible via NLI, it will open the Mountain West and Colorado’s rich Jewish history to a new audience.
“We’re grateful to History Colorado and Rose Community Foundation for funding this important resource for researchers, archivists, genealogists and community members and thank CHNC and Leigh Jeremias for working with us and NLI to share the files.”
When the IJN was founded in 1913, it acquired the microfilm for the Jewish Outlook, a predecessor newspaper that was published as the unofficial organ of National Jewish Hospital.
As part of its digitization efforts with the Library of Congress, History Colorado and now NLI, the IJN ensured that the Outlook be included in the various collections.
“We take our stewardship of the Outlook archive seriously,” said Goldberg. “It was the first Jewish newspaper in this state and therefore an important resource to anyone interested in early Denver Jewish history.”
IJN Columnist Chaim Goldberg, who also helped facilitate the conversation between NLI and CHNC, will represent the IJN at the conference.
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.
