Jewish media and communication in the modern age

Abstract

Communication in Jewish societies of the Diaspora developed in a different framework than in non-Jewish societies. Whereas communication in its modern sense (Schramm 1973) played only a marginal role in pre-modern Europe, a highly developed, modern-like communication network inhered in the functioning of traditional Jewish society. It served to turn the concept of the Jewish people, dispersed and lacking a political or religious center into a “living reality” (Gutwein 1996). Communication developments in the traditional Jewish Diaspora can be outlined according to three main interacting categories: the Diaspora-which dictated the sociopolitical framework; the Halachah-the codex of religious law and behavior regulating Jewish life; and trade-the basic livelihood of many Jews (Menache 1996). Two patterns of communication coexisted in pre-modern Jewish society: the traditional one, which operated within single communities and the modern one, which was basically inter-communal. In each community-Kehillah, Kahal-communication was mainly oral, based on the corporate way of life, primary relations, social transparency and the existence of direct, personal contact. It was, however, in the inter-communal communication network that the difference between Jewish and non-Jewish traditional communication came to the fore. That inter-communal and trans-national particularity persisted also in the modern era.