View source for Hamevasser

{{short description|Zionist Hebrew-language weekly newspaper}}
{{Infobox Newspaper
| name                 = Hamevasser
| logo                 = 
| image                =
| caption              = 
| type                 = Weekly
| format               = 
| owners               = 
| publisher            = 
| editor               = S. Hochberg
| chiefeditor          = 
| assoceditor          = 
| maneditor            =
| newseditor           =
| managingeditordesign =
| campuseditor         =
| campuschief          =
| opeditor             =
| sportseditor         =
| photoeditor          =
| staff                = 
| foundation           = 1910
| political            = Zionist
| language             = [[Hebrew]]
| ceased publication   = 1911
| headquarters         = [[Constantinople]]
| circulation          = 
| sister newspapers    = ''Courier d'Orient''/''Jeune Turc'', ''l'Aurore'', ''El Judeo''
| ISSN                 = 
| oclc                 = 
| website              = 
}}
'''''Hamevasser''''' ('The Herald') was a [[Zionist]] [[Hebrew]]-language weekly newspaper published from [[Constantinople]] 1909-1911.<ref name="intro"/> As the number of Hebrew literates was limited at the time, the circle of readership of the newspaper was rather limited. However, the publication of the newspaper contributed to enhancing the status of Hebrew in the Jewish community.<ref name="vla">Schechtman, Joseph B. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ox8KULil0qkC The Life and Times of Vladimar Jabotinsky]''. Silver Spring, MD: Eshel Books, 1986. pp. 155-157</ref> ''Hamevasser'' was distributed in various parts of the [[Ottoman empire]] and beyond, reaching [[Greece]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Tunisia]] and [[Morocco]]. ''Hamevasser'' was produced by a small circle of Zionist journalists, and was edited by S. Hochberg.<ref name="intro">Parfitt, Tudor, and Yulia Egorova. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wJVAOrtxtzoC Jews, Muslims, and Mass Media: Mediating the Other]''. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004. p. 28</ref>

''Hamevasser'' had three sister newspapers, the [[French language|French]] weekly ''[[⁨⁨L'Aurore⁩⁩ (1909–1941)|L'Aurore]]'', the [[Judeo-Spanish]] weekly ''El Judeo'' and the French daily ''Courier d'Orient''/''[[Le Jeune Turc]]'' (which was not an explicitly Jewish publication, but directed to a broader readership). [[Vladimir Jabotinsky]] functioned as the key organizer of this Zionist media network. A press committee for the four newspapers consisted of Jabotinsky, Hochberg and Jacobson. Jabotinsky contributed with several articles to ''Hamevasser''.<ref name="vla"/>

Generally, the news-coverage in ''Hamevasser'' were concentrated around Jewish and Turkish affairs, the affairs of the Ottoman empire and Jewish-Turkish-Ottoman relations.<ref>Landau, Jacob M. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3KqO5DTKl7UC Exploring Ottoman and Turkish History]''. London: Hurst, 2004. p. 367</ref>

Politically, ''Hamevasser'' was generally supportive of the constitutionalist rule established after the [[Young Turks]] revolution of 1908 and its liberal-oriented reforms. ''Hamevasser'' welcomed the introduction of conscription of non-Muslims into the Ottoman army, and argued that Jewish youth should enroll as a means to improve Jewish-Turkish relations.<ref name="hk"/> Regarding [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], it argued that Zionist settlement to Palestine was economically favourable for the development of the Ottoman empire.<ref name="hk">Parfitt, Tudor, and Yulia Egorova. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wJVAOrtxtzoC Jews, Muslims, and Mass Media: Mediating the Other]''. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004. pp. 29-30</ref> ''Hamevasser'' rebutted claims circulated by other contemporary press outlets (such as ''[[Alemdar]]''), which stated that Zionism was anti-Turkish.<ref name="p371"/>

Regarding the language question ''Hamevasser'' argued in favour of having Hebrew as the first language in Jewish schools, stating that Hebrew was the Jewish national language.<ref name="lan"/> It consciously favoured Hebrew over [[Judeo-Spanish]].<ref name="p371">Landau, Jacob M. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3KqO5DTKl7UC Exploring Ottoman and Turkish History]''. London: Hurst, 2004. p. 371</ref> [[Turkish language|Turkish]] or [[Arabic]] (depending on which part in the empire the school would be located) were proposed as secondary languages. [[French language|French]] was proposed as a third language, being a language of importance for international communication.<ref name="lan">Parfitt, Tudor, and Yulia Egorova. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=wJVAOrtxtzoC Jews, Muslims, and Mass Media: Mediating the Other]''. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004. p. 31</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:1909 establishments in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:1911 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Defunct weekly newspapers]]
[[Category:Hebrew-language newspapers]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in Istanbul]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1910]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 1911]]
[[Category:Zionism in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in Turkey]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Istanbul]]