Tribute is paid the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary in an editorial published today in the May issue of the National Jewish Monthly, official organ of the B’nai B’rith.
"It was 25 years ago that the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was born, with bombs bursting in air," the editorial says. "In fact, it was founded because of the great need caused by the first World War. Some of the bloodiest battles on the eastern front were fought in the Pale of Settlement where literally millions of Jews lived. Jewish life, of which Eastern Europe was then the world hub, was shaken to its roots, and the Jewish people had to know what was happening – and had to know in a hurry.
"After that war the JTA continued to serve, with correspondents in every land where Jewish news was at all likely to break. Today, with all of Europe under Hitler’s heel, and no Jewish journalists permitted to function as such, the JTA’s scope is necessarily limited, but so is the scope of all press services. Meanwhile the JTA covers the rest of the Jewish world, from Pawtucket to Palestine. Its dispatches keep the public informed, through the local Jewish weekly press, and are received every day by rabbis, educators, editors, and others who make good use of them.
"The JTA celebrates its 25th anniversary in the midst of a war that makes the last one seem parochial. One can hardly cry ‘happy birthday!’ at a time like this. But one can say: ‘Keep up the good work’, " the editorial concludes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
