01In brief
Novosti Nedeli (Russian: «Новости Недели») was a Russian-language newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is cataloged under the transliterated title "Novosty Nideli" and described as independent. A Russian-language reference described it as one of Israel's most-read Russian-language newspapers and stated that it belonged to Maariv. Surviving citations document issues from 1995 and 1999, including an article later cited in scholarship and Holocaust testimony. A June 2019 compilation records a later article concerning a Tel Aviv educational controversy.
02Overview
Cataloged under the transliterated title "Novosty Nideli" and the Russian title «Новости недели», the publication is described as an independent newspaper from Tel Aviv, Israel.[3]
Its online archive lists 48 available issues comprising 7,140 pages, dated from 3 July 2014 through 28 May 2015.[3] These holdings cover only part of the paper's documented publication history, which extends beyond the archive's date range.
03Origins
The available records do not establish when Novosti Nedeli was founded. The publication is documented in Tel Aviv by 27 October 1995, when it published Leonid Shkolnik's article "Eti tovarishchi ne ponimayut…"[1] Issues dated 11 and 18 March 1999 were cited in connection with testimony by Holocaust survivor Moshe Tsimkind.[4]
The surviving online archive covers July 2014 through May 2015, while a press compilation records another article dated 13 June 2019.[3][5] Together, these sources establish documented activity from at least 1995 to 2019, without demonstrating continuous publication throughout every intervening year.
04Practice
Among the paper's documented contents was Leonid Shkolnik's 27 October 1995 article "Eti tovarishchi ne ponimayut…" ("These Comrades Don't Understand…"). The article was later cited in a study of Yiddish cultural revival and post-Soviet Jewry.[1]
Issues dated 11 and 18 March 1999 carried testimony attributed to Moshe Tsimkind, who was born in 1924.[4] His account described Jewish life and persecution in Plissa, his escape after hiding in the attic of the Jewish school, his flight from the Glubokoye ghetto, and his service in a partisan detachment commanded by Lieutenant Medvedev. It also recalled the Soviet liberation of the area in July 1944 and his postwar journey through Poland to Palestine.[4]
Tsimkind stated that in 1998 he erected a monument at the execution site using money collected by former Plissa residents in Israel. An accompanying author's note records that 419 Jews were executed in Plissa on 1 June 1942.[4]
05Significance
A Russian-language reference described Vesti and Novosti Nedeli as the most-read Russian-language newspapers in Israel. It associated Novosti Nedeli with the Maariv publishing group and Vesti with Yediot Aharonot.[2]
The preserved material illustrates several roles played by the newspaper: it provided a Russian-language forum for discussion of Jewish and Israeli affairs, published survivor testimony, and carried political and cultural commentary. The later citation of Shkolnik's article in scholarship and the preservation of Tsimkind's testimony in a Yizkor-book collection also show how material first attributed to the newspaper entered broader scholarly and historical records.[1][4]
06Controversies
On 13 June 2019, Novosti Nedeli published "Oz vmesto Herzla" on page 5.[5] The item presented criticism by Jacob Hagoel, then acting head of the World Zionist Organization, of a Tel Aviv education administration decision to give high-school graduates Amos Oz's Peace to the Fanatics rather than Theodor Herzl's Altneuland. Hagoel's criticism included an attributed characterization of Oz's views as radical left; the press compilation reported this as Hagoel's position rather than as an independently established assessment.[5]
Sources
- 1Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Spiritual Potential of the Communal Revival: Yiddish Culture and Post-Soviet Jewry, accessed on September 24, 2026.
- 2The Lookstein Center, Политические структуры государства Израиль, Зеэв Гейзель ; Центр еврейского образования в диаспоре имени р. Джозефа Лукштейна, университет Бар-Илан, accessed on September 24, 2026.
- 3National Library of Israel, accessed on September 24, 2026.
- 4JewishGen, Holocaust in Belorussia [Pages 215-230], accessed on September 24, 2026.
- 5University of Haifa Herzl Institute, accessed on September 24, 2026.
IsraelPedia Question & Answers
What was Novosti Nedeli?
Novosti Nedeli was a Russian-language newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel, described as independent. A Russian-language reference identified it as one of Israel's most-read Russian-language newspapers and associated it with the Maariv publishing group.
How long was Novosti Nedeli active?
Novosti Nedeli is documented as active from at least 1995 to 2019, though the available sources do not demonstrate continuous publication throughout every intervening year. The surviving online archive covers only July 2014 through May 2015, while other citations document issues from 1995, 1999, and 2019.
What Holocaust testimony did Novosti Nedeli publish?
In issues dated 11 and 18 March 1999, Novosti Nedeli carried testimony attributed to Holocaust survivor Moshe Tsimkind, who was born in 1924. His account described Jewish life and persecution in Plissa, his escape after hiding in the attic of the Jewish school, his flight from the Glubokoye ghetto, his service in a partisan detachment commanded by Lieutenant Medvedev, and his postwar journey through Poland to Palestine. An accompanying author's note records that 419 Jews were executed in Plissa on 1 June 1942.
What controversy did Novosti Nedeli cover in 2019?
On 13 June 2019, Novosti Nedeli published an item presenting criticism by Jacob Hagoel, then acting head of the World Zionist Organization, of a Tel Aviv education administration decision to give high-school graduates Amos Oz's Peace to the Fanatics rather than Theodor Herzl's Altneuland. Hagoel's criticism included a characterization of Oz's views as radical left, reported as Hagoel's position rather than as an independently established assessment.
How did material published in Novosti Nedeli enter broader scholarly and historical records?
Leonid Shkolnik's 27 October 1995 article "Eti tovarishchi ne ponimayut…" was later cited in a study of Yiddish cultural revival and post-Soviet Jewry, and Moshe Tsimkind's testimony was preserved in a Yizkor-book collection. These cases illustrate how content first attributed to the newspaper reached wider scholarly and historical audiences.