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The Jewish Virtual Library

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Jewish Virtual Library
Jvl4.gif
URL www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Type of site Reference encyclopedia
Available language(s) English
Owner The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
Launched 1993
Alexa rank negative increase 45,358 (April 2013)[1]
Current status Online

Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish culture

Jewish Virtual Library (JVL) is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (the AICE). Established in 1993, it is a comprehensive website covering Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish culture.[2]

Contents

History

The AICE is a non-profit 501(c)(3), "non-partisan"[3] organization established "to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship by emphasizing the fundamentals of the alliance."[3]

The organization's Executive Director is foreign policy analyst Mitchell G. Bard, former editor of the Near East Report, the weekly newsletter published by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict.[4][5]

The website was originally created in the late 1990s under the name The Jewish Student Online Research Center (JSOURCE).[6] The JVL is a member of the Israel on Campus Coalition, which has described itself as "the central coordinating and strategic body to address campus issues and intelligently impact a pro-active, pro-Israel agenda on campus."[7]

According to the JVL website, the Library covers material that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, such as information about joint U.S.-Israel projects, and the treatment of Americans during the Holocaust. It explains that it received permission to use materials from the Library of Congress, from the American Jewish Historical Society, the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Prime Minister’s Office, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (author of Jewish Literacy), and dozens of other sources.[8]

It includes more than 13,000 articles and 6,000 photographs and maps related to Jewish history, Israel, U.S.-Israel relations, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and Judaism.[9] The website includes the complete text of the Tanakh.[10]

The Jewish Virtual Library also contains the pro-Israel advocacy text "Myths and Facts", edited by Mitchell Bard, in several languages.[11]

Critical reception

John Jaeger, in an article published by the Association of College and Research Libraries, said of the Jewish Virtual Library: "This library, once it is entered, is more like a living encyclopedia than it is anything else. One has options to click on, such as history, women, biography, politics, Israel, maps, and Judaic Treasures at the Library of Congress, with each launching a person into a different realm. The site is extremely well put together."[12]

Karen Evans of Indiana State University wrote that the site is comprehensive, with "easily accessible, balanced information".[2]

A PBS web page for the film The Jewish Americans lists the JVL as a resource "For Statistics and Analysis About Jews in America Today", with the description, "A division of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, the Jewish Virtual Library is a comprehensive online Jewish encyclopedia, covering everything from anti-Semitism to Zionism. More than 13,000 articles and 6,000 photographs and maps have been integrated into the site. Their Vital Statistics section has an exhaustive list of current statistics and comparative data."[13]

The Jewish Virtual Library has been cited by CNN,[14] New York Times,[15] BBC,[16] CBS News,[17] Fox News,[18][19] The Los Angeles Times,[20] USA Today,[21] Business Week,[22][23] and Bloomberg,[24] among others. It is listed as reference by academic libraries at Pennsylvania State University,[25] Michigan State University,[26] University of Washington,[27] King's College, London,[28] and the University of Delaware.[29]

JVL received awards from Britannica Internet Guide Selection, USA Today Hot Site, and the Best of the Jewish Web from the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Academic Excellence Award from Study Web and others.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jewishvirtuallibrary.org Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  2. ^ a b Karen Evans, Jewish Virtual Library at the Internet Reviews Archive, College and Research Libraries News, a division of the American Library Association at Bowdoin College, Oct 2002 (courtesy link: [1])
  3. ^ a b "About the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  4. ^ About our Director: Mitchell G. Bard. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise/Jewish Virtual Library, retrieved 2 April 2011
  5. ^ Bard, Mitchell (June 15, 2001). "Empty slogans don’t help Israel - The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle". Jewishchronicle.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Jews create research site on the Web | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California". Jweekly.com. February 13, 1998. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Israel on Campus Coalition". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.
  8. ^ "About the Israeli-American Cooperative Enterprise". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  9. ^ Text from the website of the Jewish Virtual Library, reproduced at the Michigan State University Library
  10. ^ "New England Institute of Technology Library". Library.neit.edu. August 28, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  11. ^ "The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education". Lookstein.org. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  12. ^ John Jaeger, Association of College and Research Libraries "World religions on the Web: A guide to some of the most helpful sites", C&RL News June 2002 Vol. 63 No. 6
  13. ^ "For Statistics and Analysis About Jews in America Today". PBS. Retrieved 2 April 2012. Provided as a resource on the web page the PBS film, The Jewish Americans.
  14. ^ "Sources: Sharon taps new defense minister". CNN. October 31, 2002. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  15. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. "Benjamin Netanyahu News - The New York Times". Topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  16. ^ Roberts, Sophie (January 2005). "To be Jewish is to question". BBC.
  17. ^ Montopoli, Brian (December 11, 2009). "White House Hanukkah Party Spawns Anger". CBS News. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  18. ^ "What is a Tefillin? | Phylacteries". January 21, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  19. ^ "What is a Tefillin? | Phylacteries". Myfoxchattanooga.com. January 21, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  20. ^ "Commentary; Wiesenthal Appeal for Funds Descends Into Exaggeration and Divisiveness". November 9, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  21. ^ "'Britannica' makes search a rich trip". October 10, 2001. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  22. ^ "Egypt Scraps Synagogue Ceremony After Dancing and Drinking". BusinessWeek. March 14, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  23. ^ "Hungary Approves Law Making Holocaust Denial a Criminal Offense". BusinessWeek. February 23, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  24. ^ Waters, Rob (2008-03-04). "For European Jews, Living to 100 Is Partly a Tale of Two Genes". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
  25. ^ "Holocaust and Jewish Studies". Libraries.psu.edu. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  26. ^ "Connect to "Jewish Virtual Library"". Er.lib.msu.edu. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  27. ^ "Middle East History Web Sites, University of Washington Libraries". Lib.washington.edu. January 13, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  28. ^ "Database List, King's College London". Metalib.kcl.ac.uk. August 20, 1996. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  29. ^ "Internet Resources for Jewish Studies". .lib.udel.edu. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  30. ^ "Awards page at Jewish Virtual Library". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved June 4, 2010.

External links