Demise of Day-jewish Journal Tragedy for U.s., World Jewry

It was expected 10 years hence. At the moment, the end of the Day-Jewish Journal (Tag-Morgen Zhurnal) is the most sensational and, at the same time, the most tragic story that unfolds for American and World Jewry in this decade. For 70 years the Yiddish newspaper has been the most important Americanizing force in the country. At the same time it was the major factor in assuring solidarity in Jewish ranks in providing relief for war sufferers in World War I, in seeking havens for Jews in World War II and in striving for the protection of Israel. It has been a factor in the battle against prejudice generally and in exposing anti-Semitism.

With the Forward as the only remaining major Yiddish daily in this country–except for the Freiheit, whose smallness in size and circulation is due to its Communist affiliation–the demise of Yiddish, which we deplored for many years, has reached a deplorable but hopefully not final stage. In 1914, when the Jewish population in this country–2.4 million–was much less than half the present US population, there were 10 Yiddish dailies. Their total audited circulation as recorded in 1914 in Editor and Publisher was 762,910.

YIDDISH PRESS PLAYED VITAL ROLE

Now, with the passing of the Day-Jewish Journal, the number of Yiddish-reading families for all of the United States will probably be around 50,000. This is a tragedy because the Yiddish language, which was spoken by many millions in the love for which Maurice Samuel, Leo Rosten and many others recently have written nostalgically, is losing one of its strongest organs. The Yiddish newspaper has been as much a literary reservoir as it was a newspaper. The names of some of the greatest Jewish writers have been linked with the Yiddish press–Chaim Zhitiovsky, Dr. Chaim Greenberg, Abraham Goldberg, Yehoash, Sholem Asch–scores of names so popular that they have become legends in many languages.

So important was the Yiddish newspaper that when William Randolph Hearst conducted an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of New York, he established a daily newspaper of his own in Yiddish. So vital was that press that when Louis Marshall, the then unquestioned leader of American Jewry, felt impelled to know the mind of the masses, he learned Yiddish to be able to read their newspapers. He was of the Yahudim, but he studied the language of the masses. And when Marshall desired to influence the masses, he established, together with Zvi Masliansky, a Yiddish daily of his own. It could not compete with the Forward, Warheit, Day-Jewish Journal and Tageblatt, but he made the attempt.

NEW RESPONSIBILITIES FOR WEEKLIES

The decline of the Yiddish press places added responsibilities upon the English-Jewish press. The Jewish weeklies publishing in some 60 American cities in the English language now must assume even greater responsibility than they held in the past. They are the only community organs that can be read by parent and child, because the Yiddish-studying youth are so few–much fewer than the Hebrew-reading (and in spite of Israel even the latter strength is exaggerated–the publishers of Hadoar, the only Hebrew-language weekly in this country, will attest to that).

If it were not for the services of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency the situation would have been much worse. The JTA for 40 years had a Yiddish department. With the death of the two members of the Yiddish staff, JTA was forced, two years ago, to abandon the Yiddish service, and the Yiddish newspapers found it necessary to do their own translating of the English transmissions into Yiddish. But the English-speaking communities had access to the news as compiled by JTA.

Now JTA, continuing the service with even greater zeal, and the English-Jewish press represent the main communications forces in this country. In the interest of well-functioning Jewish communities, it is vital that American Jewry give much greater support to both in the years ahead. They are the mainstays in the process of survival of Jewry as a great spiritual and cultural force.