Esther G. Gottesman a long-serving member of the Hadassah Board of Directors, is credited with developing the organization's newsletter into a widely respected, mass-circulation magazine.[1] The periodical made the transition from a newsletter produced by volunteers, to a professional magazine staffed by salaried journalists in 1947 under the leadership of executive editorJesse Z. Lurie, a journalist who had previously worked for the Palestine Post and who would edit Hadassah for the next 33 years.[2]
In 1986, when the magazine had a circulation of 385,000, Hadassah banned cigarette advertising. The magazine's chairman, Rose Goldman, told the New York Times that advertising tobacco was not "in keeping with the mission and philosophy of the organization."[3]
The popular "Jewish Traveler" column began in 1983, with articles by an array of Jewish writers reporting on sites of Jewish interest in destinations worldwide.[4]
^Cashman, Greer Fay (14 April 2017). "Journalist Jesse Z. Lurie dies at 103. Former 'Post' staffer was founding executive editor of 'Hadassah Magazine'". Jerusalem Post.
^ abGendler, Neal (26 February 1995). "Bookshelf (book review)". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
^Haas, Al (15 May 1994). "The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights (book review)". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
^"The Hadassah Magazine Jewish Parenting Book (book review)". The Globe and Mail. 23 March 1991.