Jewish Journalism in Dark Times
Panelists: Naomi Brenner (Ohio State University), Gilad Halpern, and Matthew Handelman (2025–2026 Frankel Institute Fellows)Moderator: Shachar Pinsker (Co-Head Fellow)
Join us for a roundtable discussion exploring the transformation of Jewish journalism during the interwar years  (1918–1939) and World War II, an era of profound upheaval. Panelists will analyze how Jewish newspapers and journals became vital platforms for political, literary, and cultural engagement. The discussion will highlight dramatic shifts in journalistic practices, including evolving editorial strategies, reporting methods, and technological innovations in format and distribution and the transnational and transcultural elements that come to the fore during that time. Panelists will also examine the economic pressures and opportunities that shaped the Jewish press, and consider the influence and role of Jews as journalists within the broader media landscape.
Gilad Halpern, journalist and media historian, draws on recent doctoral research on The Palestine Post amid imperial decline and rising nationalism, bridging professional and scholarly perspectives. Naomi Brenner explores entertainment fiction in the Hebrew and Yiddish press, focusing on the aesthetics and politics of the roman-feuilleton as a transnational literary form.Matthew Handelman investigates the cultural politics of German Jewish intellectuals  and the primacy of culture in political discourse from the Weimar Republic onward.
Central to the conversation is the role of Jewish periodicals as spaces for cultural expression, literary experimentation, and political debate. These publications not only documented Jewish life, but actively shaped identities, fostered transnational dialogue, and provided forums for writers, artists, and intellectuals grappling with questions of survival and belonging. This roundtable offers timely insights into journalism during a time of crisis, illuminating enduring questions about Jews and media.