Baruch Dayan Hoemes - Gershon Jacobson A"H

We are sorry to share with you the sad news of the passing this afternoon of Mr. Gershon Jacobson at the age of 71.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia (Tzivia), his three sons, Rabbis Simon, Boruch and Yosef Y. Jacobson, two daughters Freida Hecht of Norwalk, CT and Chanie Krasnianski of NYC, many grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Gershon Jacobson was a true journalist and communicator par excellence. For the last 33 years he was the editor and publisher of the Algemeiner Journal, the largest a weekly Yiddish/English newspaper, which he founded in 1972. For 55 years, Gershon Jacobson, a journalist for some of the largest newspapers, including the �New York Herald Tribune,� the Yiddish Day Jewish Journal and Israel�s largest daily �Yediot Acharonot,� was a faithful witness and documenter of the destruction, rebirth and renaissance of Jews and Judaism.

Born in 1933 in Moscow, Mr. Jacobson began his journalistic career as a teenager in Europe, writing for French newspapers following the war and has been standing at the for-front of public Jewish life for over six decades. In 1953 Mr. Jacobson moved to the United States where he became the front page editor for Der Tog Morgen Journal (The Day Jewish Journal), one of the largest daily Yiddish newspapers. Gershon Jacobson also worked as a journalist for the NY Herald Tribune and in 1964 replaced Eli Weisel as the UN correspondent of Israel�s largest daily, Yediot Acharonot. In 1972 he founded the In 1972 he founded The Algemeiner Journal, which he published till his last day.

Mr. Jacobson was a living record of the most traumatic and exciting six decades in all of Jewish history. From his young years under Stalin�s tyranny, through his youth walking the streets of war torn Europe; from the ashes of a destroyed old world to the rebirth of Israel; from the revitalization of Jews in America to the horror of terrorism � Gershon recorded it all, interviewed the key players, and served as an indispensable guide to understand the world in which we live.

His children are dedicated to perpetuate his work into the 21st century. Above all Gershon was a special soul, beloved by all even those that may have disagreed with him. A true chassid and beautiful Jew, he had the unique ability to blend, with charm and wit, disarming objectivity with deep faith. His vision was global in scope, at the same time profoundly rooted in tradition. A rare breed of a warm, non-judgmental personality coupled with a sharp mind and profound human insight.

A good man of true conviction has passed. May his soul be a merit to his illustrious family and to all of us.

*****

The funeral of Gershon Jacobson will take place tomorrow, Monday, May 29, 9:30AM at the Shomrei Hadas Chapel, in Brooklyn, NY, 3803 14th Ave., corner 38th St. It will then proceed past 770 Eastern Parkway and go to the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Cambria Heights, Queens, where Mr. Jacobson will be laid to rest.