Algemeiner Journal

The Algemeiner operates in print and online, with coverage focused on Israel, the Middle East, and Jewish affairs around the world.[1][2] Its name is a Yiddish/German word meaning “universal” or “all inclusive,” chosen to express founder Gershon Jacobson’s desire to reach as many readers as possible.[1]

The publication is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded by private donors.[1] It began as a Yiddish newspaper and was described in 2007 as a Yiddish-English weekly.[1][7] It was relaunched as an English-language publication in 2008.[3] Its Yiddish readership in New York included Holocaust survivors and observant Orthodox Jews.[8]

Journalist Gershon Jacobson founded Der Algemeiner Journal in 1972 as a Yiddish newspaper.[1] An undated directory entry preserved among public-relations materials from 1988–1991 identifies him as editor and gives the newspaper’s address as 211 63rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11220.[9]

Archival listings preserve titles of Yiddish articles published in 1988 on relations between Judaism and the Vatican.[10] These include “The Goal of the Vatican is the Dissolution of Judaism,” dated January 8, and “Six Jewish Personalities meet with Cardinal who attacked Jews,” dated January 29.[10] Two further titles, “Pope’s Holocaust Theology” and “Our Friend, the Pope,” are dated July 22.[10] These are records of article titles and publication dates, rather than evidence establishing the assertions contained in the titles.[10]

A 2018 Jerusalem Post commentary recounts that a four-page English-language supplement began in 1989 and that Gershon Jacobson headed the newspaper until his death in 2005.[11] The same commentary states that his eldest son, Simon, subsequently became publisher and established the Gershon Jacobson Jewish Continuity Foundation.[11] By February 2007, Rabbi Simon Jacobson was identified as publisher of the “Yiddish-English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal”; his other publishing work included documenting and publishing talks by the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe from 1979 to 1992.[7]

In 2008, Dovid Efune became editor-in-chief and oversaw the newspaper’s relaunch as an English-language publication.[3] He also held executive responsibilities, described as CEO in a 2021 report and as executive director in the publication’s organizational information.[3][2] Algemeiner.com launched in English in 2012.[1][2]

An English-language digitized collection covers January 5, 2018, through October 30, 2020, comprising 131 issues and 1,576 pages.[4] These dates delimit the available digitized run, not the newspaper’s full publication history.[4]

David M. Cohen became CEO in September 2024, with a stated vision of expanding the organization’s digital footprint, reaching a worldwide audience, and using artificial intelligence in media.[1] The organizational leadership listing identifies Aaron Kliegman as executive editor and Simon Jacobson as publisher.[1]

Simon Jacobson is also listed as chair of the board.[2] Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel led the advisory board until his death in 2016.[2] Other listed advisory-board members include Martin Peretz, Abraham Foxman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, although their dates of service are not specified.[2]

In a publisher’s message written after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Simon Jacobson defined the organization’s mission as serving as “a courageous voice on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.”[12] He framed its journalism as a battle against ignorance, misinformation, propaganda, and deception.[12]

The Algemeiner published 144 online items dealing with antisemitism in the United States during 2020, compared with 161 in the Forward.[5] Its coverage addressed antisemitism in academia and on campuses, the relationship between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and antisemitism on the political left more extensively than the Forward’s coverage did.[5] The comparison supplied no exact counts for those subtopics and cautioned that numerical comparisons were not an in-depth analysis of how the publications framed the issue.[5]

The annual J100 recognizes people in politics, culture, business, media, and public life for their positive impact on Jewish life and Israel.[6] The twelfth annual list was unveiled at a New York City gala on March 9, 2026.[6]

A 2018 Jerusalem Post commentary previewed the fifth annual Algemeiner Gala Dinner in New York, naming actress Sharon Stone, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, and philanthropists Richard and Monique Chera as intended honorees.[11] That commentary described the gala as a platform for a J100 recognizing Jewish individuals’ contributions to Jewish communities in Israel and worldwide, and also mentioned a separate annual list of non-Jews who had positively influenced the Jewish future.[11]

The Algemeiner’s history links a Yiddish newspaper serving readers in New York with an English-language publication addressing Jewish affairs internationally.[1][8] Its publishing record preserves both earlier Yiddish material on Jewish religious and interfaith concerns and a later English-language print collection.[10][4] Alongside its news coverage, the J100 provides a recurring means of recognizing contributions to Jewish life and Israel across several fields of public activity.[6]

Political characterizations of The Algemeiner should be treated as attributed assessments rather than neutral classifications. An INSS study comparing antisemitism coverage identified the site as conservative, while a 2021 Jerusalem Post report described the publication as having a “conservative bent.”[5][3] The INSS study also cautioned that its numerical comparison was not an in-depth analysis of how each outlet framed the issue.[5]