Új Kelet (pronounced[ˈuːjˈkɛlɛt]; Hungarian translation: "New East") is a Hungarian-language ZionistJewishnewspaper published first in Kolozsvár (Cluj) in Transylvania, Romania in 1918. Prior to the annexation of Transylvania to Hungary in 1940 when it ceased publishing, it was the preeminent periodical for Hungarian-speaking Jewry in the world.[1] After an 8-year break from its final publication in 1940, it was reestablished in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1948.[1]
Under the initiative of Chaim Weiszburg, a leader of the Zionist movement, Új Kelet was launched as a weekly on December 19, 1918.[1] The first editor was Béla Székely (1882–1955), one of the two cofounders, who was succeeded in 1919 by Dr. Ernő Marton (1896–1960), the other cofounder.[2] It became a daily in 1920 under Marton's editorship.[3] It also published a literary review, Fõld (The Soil), first as a monthly and later as a weekly supplement.[3]
In 1920, antisemitic activity in Cluj increased after its incorporation into Romania. Jews were expelled from government positions (Marton had become deputy mayor) and from the university. In 1927, antisemitic university students destroyed Új Kelet's printing presses.[4]
From 1927 until the end of its Transylvanian period, the editor was Ferenc Jámbor.[1] After the Hungarian annexation of Cluj in 1940, the Horthy regime banned the paper because of its strong Zionist leanings. Marton emigrated to Palestine (Eretz Israel) after World War II, and in 1948, the paper reemerged under his editorship with David Schon in Tel Aviv.[5] Among the writers at the newspaper after its reestablishment in Israel were Alexander Sauber, Rezső Kastner, Yossef Lapid, Ephraim Kishon, Ottó Rappaport [hu], Elemer Diamant, David Drori, and Pal Benedek. The paper became a weekly publication from 2000 to 2015. From 2016 onward, it has been published monthly.
From 1993 to 2015 George Edri was the owner of Új Kelet. The new editorial published Új Kelet as the main Hungarian-language independent newspaper in Israel between 2015-20 on a monthly basis and from 2020 on a three monthly basis.[6]
Editor in Chief: Eva Vadasz
Creative Art: Kristof Steiner
Graphic Design: Julia Szasz, Sara Salamon, Lou Kiss
Editors: Istvan J. Bedo, Anna Sebo
Print: Hadfus Hechadash Ltd., Rishon Letzion
Contributors: Arje Singer, Avi ben Giora, Balázs Ibi, Borgula András, Egervári Vera, Frank Peti, Grünhut Éva, Halmos László, Halmos Sándor, Korányi Eszter, Krasznai Éva, Lévai György, Markovits Mária, Markovic Radmila, Dr. Paszternák András, Róna Éva, Schnapp Lea, Steiner Kristóf, Szabó Orsi, Surányi J. András.
References
^ abcdKeren-Kratz, Menachem (2023). "The Social Role of Small Jewish Cultural Centers: The Case of Cluj-Napoca, Romania". In Greenspoon, Leonard (ed.). Jews and Urban Life. Purdue University Press. p. 47. ISBN978-1-61249-903-1.
