Tag Archive for Yiddish

Yiddish becoming popular among Israeli Arabs

1/4 of Yiddish students at Bar-Ilan University are Arab. Yusuf Alakili of Kfar Kassem admits,  ‘I have always felt a connection to this language,’

By Dudi Goldman

 

“I find a certain mystery in Yiddish, a refined and enigmatic musical note. I cannot explain it, but I have always felt a connection to this language.”

‘Why is this magnificent language neglected?’ Yiddish literature – Photo: Ahimeir Porat

Contrary to what one might expect, the speaker is not a Polish poet or a German philosopher. He is Yusuf Alakili, 50, of the Arab Israeli town of Kfar Kassem, who is working on his master’s degree at Bar-Ilan University’s Literature of the Jewish People Department, while studying Yiddish for his own pleasure. Continue Reading »