Abraham Benisch, 1855–1868

In January 1853 a new Jewish newspaper, the Hebrew Observer, appeared. It was founded by Abraham Pierpoint Shaw, about whom almost nothing is known. However, it was edited by Abraham Benisch, who had come to prominence as a co-editor of the Voice of Jacob. A year later Benisch bought the Hebrew Observer from its founding proprietor. As early as March 1853, Marcus Bresslau, who had deserted Joseph Mitchell and the Jewish Chronicle in the autumn of 1851, was a regular contributor. He and Benisch thereby became associates, but after Mitchell's demise Bresslau returned to the Jewish Chronicle and tried to run it on his own. The market could not sustain two Jewish newspapers, and early in 1855 Benisch initiated a merger of the two journals. The new series was called the Jewish Chronicle and Hebrew Observer, a title which was retained until 1868. Change did not stop there. Once Benisch was installed in the Jewish Chronicle office, it was not long before he ousted Bresslau. From February 1855, Benisch was the sole editor and proprietor of the older paper.

Abraham Benisch was born in Bohemia in 1811, studied surgery in Prague around 1836, and later attended Vienna University. While in Prague he became friendly with Moritz Steinschneider, the great bibliographer of Hebraica, and helped to found a Jewish students' association devoted to the idea of restoring Jewish Palestine.