HA-KARMEL

HA-KARMEL (Heb. הַכַּרְמֶל), Hebrew periodical published in Vilna under the editorship of S.J. *Fuenn. It first appeared as a weekly (1860–70) and later as a monthly (1871–80). Ha-Karmel was required by terms of its license to publish a Russian supplement. This supplement was a more extreme advocate of the enlightenment than its Hebrew equivalent. Fuenn was a moderate maskil who tried to bridge the gap between the traditionalist and liberal elements. He supported the policy of the Russian government toward the Jews, closer association of the Jews with the Russian nation and its culture, and advocated the transition to labor, especially agriculture. Among the contributors to Ha-Karmel were A.B. Lebensohn, Ẓ.H. Katzenellenbogen, M. Plungian, E. Zweifel, J. Eichenbaum, A.B. Gottlober, J.L. Gordon, Kalman Schulmann, J. Reifmann, A. Harkavy, Solomon Buber, S. Rubin, R.A. Braudes, and J.M. Pines. For a short time (1866–68), Ha-Karmel's editorial policy became more liberal and a number of articles by more radical authors appeared (A.U. Kovner, A.J. Paperna, and L. Kantor). Editorials came out in support of M.L. Lilienblum who also began to contribute to it. However, it soon resumed its more moderate course. The number of subscribers fluctuated between 300 and 500. Ḥevrat Mefiẓei ha-Haskalah, to which the periodical devoted much space from the time of the founding of that society (1863), supported Ha-Karmel, although not pleased with its moderate position. The literary level of the periodical was generally low, its language flowery, the poems (with the exception of those of J.L. Gordon) and stories few and poor, and the articles written in a cumbersome style. Permeated with a spirit of Russian patriotism, Ha-Karmel supported the Russification policy in the regions of Lithuania and Poland. The paper devoted much space to news of Jewish life in Vilna and its surroundings.

bibliography:

S.J. Fuenn, in: Ha-Karmel, 1 (1860), 372–3; Klausner, Sifrut, 4 (1954), 11–20; G. Elkoshi, in: He-Avar, 13 (1966), 66–97; 14 (1967), 105–42; Y. Slutsky, ibid., 14 (1967) 153–8.

[Yehuda Slutsky]