ABSTRACT
Mass media change—described as the information revolution—is one of the major characteristics of the contemporary era. Yet, in the longer term, it would be more accurate to describe media history as a series of information revolutions. This chapter describes how media change has affected Jewish life. It addresses how Jewish values and legal norms have impacted upon mass media behavior. These issues have a great deal of relevance for approaches to Jewish history. Communications theories have often been associated with the various means of dissemination of information, propaganda, and entertainment. The chapter focuses on the Jewish communities in the Diaspora and the early years of Hebrew media in Ottoman Palestine, the British mandate, and Israel. Judaism regulates both God's relationship with people and the relationships between people. Judaism and mass media each developed separately, with wide time spans between one and the other.
