Type Daily newspaper Publisher Ruth Lichtenstein | Founded 1950 | |
Hamodia (Hebrew: המודיע – "the Informer") is a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in Jerusalem, Israel. A daily English-language edition is also published in the United States, and weekly English-language editions in England and Israel. A weekly edition for French-speaking readers debuted in 2008. The newspaper's slogan is "The Newspaper of Torah Jewry". It comes with two magazines, Inyan and Binyan. Haaretz, the newspaper of Israel's secular left, describes Hamodia as one of the "most powerful" newspapers in the Haredi community.
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History
Hamodia was founded in 1950 by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin, son of the Agudat Israel leader Rabbi Yitzhak-Meir Levin of Warsaw and Jerusalem.
Its current director general is Rabbi Chaim Moshe Knopf and its deputy director general is Knopf's son, Rabbi Elazar Knopf.
American edition
The English edition of Hamodia is published by Levin's daughter, Ruth Lichtenstein. It was first printed on February 27, 1998, as a weekly paper and on December 15, 2003, it expanded to include a daily publication as well. The daily edition is published from Monday to Friday, with no edition appearing on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), Sunday, or the week of Passover, or the week of Sukkot. The weekly edition is printed on Wednesdays, and includes expanded sections and a glossy magazine. The English-language Hamodia is published in four editions: United States (daily and weekly), Israel (weekly only), Australia (weekly only) and Britain (weekly only). The daily edition of the American Hamodia is also available in a digital online edition.
The American version is the first Haredi Jewish daily newspaper ever published in English in the U.S.
In 2008, a French language weekly edition was introduced and enjoys a wide circulation both in the French-speaking community in Israel and in France itself.
Editorial policy
Editorial policy reflects the Haredi point of view. Although not Zionist, on ideological grounds it is right of center in its Israeli coverage. It is very vociferous on the thorny issue of Jerusalem and opposes even minimal concessions. It includes editorials on all sides of American political and economic issues. However, regarding same-sex marriage, the newspaper does not even use that name, but rather uses "immorality" (as in: The Supreme Court has announced it will rule in an immorality case). Torah and community related topics are more often written by the reporters at the paper, while most of the national and international news is taken from other news sources, such as Reuters and Associated Press. The publication adheres to a strict interpretation of Tzniut that prohibits photographs of women on its pages and website. As Hareidi culture shuns television, internet usage and the reading of secular newspapers, Hamodia is one of the few news sources available to many of its readers. At first, the publishers refused to produce an internet edition of Hamodia, but it now exists.