A Hungarian-language Jewish newspaper first published in Romania over a century ago and reestablished in Tel Aviv with the founding of the state is marking its 107th anniversary with the launch of a bookazine format.
Új Kelet served as the preeminent newspaper for generations of Hungarian-speaking Jews from its first publication as a weekly in 1918 in Kolozsvár, then as a daily in 1920, to its rebirth in Tel Aviv in 1948, with an editorial team that included journalistic luminaries such as Tommy Lapid, Efraim Kishon, Israel Kastner, Dosh and Zeev, before becoming solely web based in 2022.
After a three-year break in printing, Új Kelet, Hungarian for “New East,” evolved once more, transforming this year from a 32-page magazine to a 180-page bookazine, of which 1,200 copies are printed in Israel, while the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities prints and distributes 3,800 copies in the Central European country.
“At a time of rising global antisemitism, it is more important than ever that a renewed Hungarian-language voice stands up to bigotry and offers clarity instead of division,” Eva Vadasz, editor-in-chief of Új Kelet and one of the three owners, told JNS on Thursday.
“In light of what is going on around the world, it is more critical than ever that there is a periodical in Hungarian from Israel which will reach readers both in Hungary and around the world,” said Ron Lustig, director of the Memorial Museum of Hungarian Speaking Jewry in Safed, who addressed a gala event held at Tel Aviv University last week marking the publication’s 107th anniversary and new format.
The bookazine is primarily funded by Frank Lowy, the 95-year-old Australian-Israeli entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Holocaust survivor, who recounted that his mother was an avid reader of the periodical in their Sydney home.
“From its very beginnings, Új Kelet exerted influence well beyond Transylvania,” said Andor Grosz, president of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities. “The high quality of its journalism and its consistent Zionist commitment had a profound impact on Hungarian and Hungarian-speaking Jewish communities throughout the world.”
