Between Wanderings:
Si neviim so somos, de neviim venimos - We are not prophets, from prophets we descend.
About the authors
Further reading
Ladino publishing in 19th and 20th century Salonica was a remarkable phenomenon reflecting the cultural and linguistic vitality of the Sephardic Jewish community in the Ottoman Empire. Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, is the vernacular language of the descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 who settled in various parts of the Ottoman Empire, especially in the Balkans and Anatolia. Salonica, now Thessaloniki in Greece, was one of the most important centers of Ladino culture, with a large and influential Jewish population that constituted a majority of the city’s inhabitants until the early 20th century. So influential were Sephardic Jews, that the city was known as the "Mother of Israel".
One of the pioneers of Ladino publishing in Salonica was Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi (1820–1903), a journalist, publisher, printer, poet, and musician who founded several Ladino newspapers and magazines, such as La Buena Esperansa (The Good Hope), El Lunar (The Mole), El Avenir (The Future), and La Epoca (The Era). He also wrote a memoir in Ladino, which is considered to be the earliest known Ladino-language memoir and a valuable source of information about the social, political, and cultural life of Ottoman Jews in the city. In 2012 his memoir was edited and translated into English by Aron Rodrigue, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, and Isaac Jerusalmi, and published under the title A Jewish Voice from Ottoman Salonica: The Ladino Memoir of Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi by Stanford University Press.
Another prominent Ladino newspaper was El Puevlo (The People), founded in 1909 by David Fresco (1870–1940), a journalist, writer, educator, and Zionist activist who also edited other Ladino publications, such as El Tyempo (The Time) and La Solidaridad Ovradera (The Workers’ Solidarity). El Puevlo was a socialist and Zionist newspaper that advocated for the rights and interests of the Jewish workers and supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. It was also one of the first newspapers to report on the atrocities committed against the Jews during the Balkan Wars and World War I. El Puevlo ceased publication in 1925 due to financial difficulties.
Ladino publishing in Salonica declined after World War I, as a result of several factors, such as the incorporation of Salonica into Greece in 1912, which changed the political and legal status of the Jews; the Great Fire of 1917, which destroyed many Jewish neighborhoods and businesses; the rise of Greek nationalism and antisemitism; the emigration of many Jews to Palestine, Europe, or America; and the spread of Turkish nationalism and secularism among some segments of the Jewish community. The final blow came with the Nazi occupation of Greece in 1941, which led to the deportation and extermination of most of Salonica’s Jews in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only a few Ladino publications survived until then, such as La Vara (The Rod), which was founded in 1935 by Alberto Nahmias (1906–1944), a journalist, lawyer, and politician who was also a member of the Greek parliament. La Vara was a liberal and democratic newspaper that defended the rights and interests of the Jews within Greece. Nahmias was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 and died in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 19443.
Ladino publishing in Salonica was thus a remarkable expression of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Ottoman society and Jewish history. It also reflected the challenges and transformations that affected both Salonica and its Jewish community in the 19th and 20th centuries.
One of the pioneers of Ladino publishing in Salonica was Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi (1820–1903), a journalist, publisher, printer, poet, and musician who founded several Ladino newspapers and magazines, such as La Buena Esperansa (The Good Hope), El Lunar (The Mole), El Avenir (The Future), and La Epoca (The Era). He also wrote a memoir in Ladino, which is considered to be the earliest known Ladino-language memoir and a valuable source of information about the social, political, and cultural life of Ottoman Jews in the city. In 2012 his memoir was edited and translated into English by Aron Rodrigue, Sarah Abrevaya Stein, and Isaac Jerusalmi, and published under the title A Jewish Voice from Ottoman Salonica: The Ladino Memoir of Sa’adi Besalel a-Levi by Stanford University Press.
Another prominent Ladino newspaper was El Puevlo (The People), founded in 1909 by David Fresco (1870–1940), a journalist, writer, educator, and Zionist activist who also edited other Ladino publications, such as El Tyempo (The Time) and La Solidaridad Ovradera (The Workers’ Solidarity). El Puevlo was a socialist and Zionist newspaper that advocated for the rights and interests of the Jewish workers and supported the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. It was also one of the first newspapers to report on the atrocities committed against the Jews during the Balkan Wars and World War I. El Puevlo ceased publication in 1925 due to financial difficulties.
Ladino publishing in Salonica declined after World War I, as a result of several factors, such as the incorporation of Salonica into Greece in 1912, which changed the political and legal status of the Jews; the Great Fire of 1917, which destroyed many Jewish neighborhoods and businesses; the rise of Greek nationalism and antisemitism; the emigration of many Jews to Palestine, Europe, or America; and the spread of Turkish nationalism and secularism among some segments of the Jewish community. The final blow came with the Nazi occupation of Greece in 1941, which led to the deportation and extermination of most of Salonica’s Jews in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only a few Ladino publications survived until then, such as La Vara (The Rod), which was founded in 1935 by Alberto Nahmias (1906–1944), a journalist, lawyer, and politician who was also a member of the Greek parliament. La Vara was a liberal and democratic newspaper that defended the rights and interests of the Jews within Greece. Nahmias was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 and died in Auschwitz-Birkenau in 19443.
Ladino publishing in Salonica was thus a remarkable expression of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Ottoman society and Jewish history. It also reflected the challenges and transformations that affected both Salonica and its Jewish community in the 19th and 20th centuries.
