The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in the country. Alter built a seven newspaper chain, but only two survived the
Great Depression, including the
Baltimore Jewish Times. The two expanded the scope of the paper's coverage, as well as the size; in the 1980s the paper regularly exceeded 200 pages, and circulation peaked at over 20,000. In the 1980s the two also acquired
The Detroit Jewish News and
The Atlanta Jewish Times, which were given similar makeovers. Rosenblatt left in 1993 to become editor of
New York's The Jewish Week. Buerger died in 1996, and the paper was taken over by his son Andrew. Phil Jacobs, a Baltimore native and former
Jewish Times reporter who had been serving as editor of the Detroit paper, was named Executive Editor of the
Baltimore Jewish Times in 1997. During his tenure, the paper published a series of investigative reports on child molestation by members of the rabbinate, and revealed that he had been molested himself as a child. The series won critical acclaim, but also outrage from some members of the Orthodox community, who disputed some of the accusations made. Jacobs' experience writing the series and living through the controversy it raised in his community was chronicled in
Standing Silent, a 2010 documentary film by director Scott Rosenfelt (producer of
Mystic Pizza and
Home Alone, among others). Jacobs left the
Baltimore Jewish Times in June 2011 to become editor of
Washington Jewish Week. == Awards ==