THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Epitaph for Yiddish Language Is Attacked

By MOSHE RON

The Jewish News Special
Israel Correspondent

TEL AVIV — For a Yid-
dish journalist, who had
worked for years for the
Yiddish Daily Haynt in
Warsaw, who had lived and
grown with the Yiddish
language used by the great
Jewish masses, it was hard
to read the "Kadish" for the
Yiddish press in the London
Jewish Chronicle in
England, by the Jewish
journalist Shmuel
Goldschmidt, who had
worked before World War II
on De Yiddishe Shtimme in
Lithuania.
From the once-splendid
Yiddish press in European
countries like Poland,
Lithuania, Latvia, France,
Belgium etc., which was
liquidated together with
European Jewry by the
Nazi murderers, and even
in countries which were not
occupied by them there are
still several dailies, week-
lies and monthlies, which
fight to preserve the Yid-
dish language.
We bless those news-
papers who keep up the
Yiddish press: the Daily
Forward in New York, Di
Presse in Buenos Aires,
Unzer Wort in Paris,
Letzte Nayes in Tel
Aviv; the weeklies: Der
Allgemeiner Journal in
New York, Australishe
Nayer in Australia, De
Weg and Die Yiddishe
Shtimme in Mexieo, Af-
rikaner Yiddishe Zeitung
in Johannesburg, Die
Yiddishe Presse and Der
Moment in Brazil,
Canader Odler in
Montreal, Die Yiddishe
Zeitung in Chile, Volks-
Stimme in Poland, Re-
vista Culturai in
Romania (Romanian,
Hebrew and Yiddish),
Yiddishe Zeitung in Tel
Aviv, Israel Shtimme,
Volk, Welt un Medine, Is-
rael Shtimme and Volks
Blatt in Tel Aviv, Lebens
Frage and Volks Blatt in
Israel.
Yiddish newspapers
which appear bi-weekly or
bi-monthly include Freiheit
in New York, Unzer Weg in
Paris, Kemfer in New York,
Unzer Zeit, Unzer Shtimme
in Paris, Unzer Gedank in
Australia, Paravis in
Mexico, Da in Uruguay,'
along with several writings
and bulletins.
One has to point out also
the important role of the
Yiddish radio stations in

several countries. Tens of
thousands of Jews listen
with great interest to these
broadcasts.
Therefore, I cannot un-
derstand how Goldschmidt
could write that one has to
prepare an honorary burial
for the Yiddish language.
There are four Yiddish
theaters in America which
perform with success.
Young Jewish artists who
have played on the English
stage come over to the Yid-
dish theaters. There are
several Yiddish theaters in
Israel, and thousands
attend their performances.
I wish to emphasize a
positive development. A
short time ago the famous
Yiddish artist Molly
Picon visited Israel. She
appeared in the 3,000-
seat Mann Auditorium in
Tel Aviv, which was sold
out. She performed in big
halls and before huge
audiences in Jerusalem
and Haifa. There was a
demand for more con-
certs in Tel Aviv. One
could hardly obtain a tic-
ket.
The Israel National The-
ater, Habima, prepared a
Yiddish performance, "Die
Kleine Mentchelech," by
Sholom Aleichem with the
three Shmuels: Shmuel
Rodensky, Shmuel Atzmon
and Shmuel Segal. All per-
formances in Israel were
packed. They went to
Europe and had to extend
their engagements in sev-
eral countries.

I wonder, if Kadish-

adviser
Shmuel
Goldschmidt knows that
there are several places in
Israel that organize dozens
of cultural enterprises in
Yiddish? Has Mr. Gold-
schmidt visited Leiwik
House in Tel Aviv where
hundreds come every week
to hear a Yiddish word,
song, writer or artist? The
chief editor of the Daily
Forward, Shimon Weber,
has written that there are
Yiddish departments in 40
universities in America.
Has the "Kadish-
adviser" once visited the
Peretz Library or the li-
brary of P. Kurski in Tel
Aviv and asked how many
Yiddish books are being
sold in a month? Mr. Green
from the Peretz Library told
me that he sells 800 Yiddish
books each month outside of
Israel. The Monthly Book in
Yiddish, chosen by the Yid-
dish Cultural Committee,
sold over 1,000 Yiddish
books in one week.
Three years ago, at a
conference of Yiddish
writers in Israel, or-
ganized by the World
Federation of Jewish
Journalists, over 100
writers and journalists
from 15 countries
attended. The Israeli
newspaper Haaretz at-
tacked the organizers of
the conference and its
participants. The chair-
man of the World Federa-
tion, Michael Assaf, voi-
ced a sharp reply and
since then there was si-
lence on this front until
the new "Kadish-

adviser" appeared.
Goldshmidt visited the
Israeli journalists' house in
Tel Aviv, Bet Sokolov, not
long ago. He was criticized
strongly for his anti-
Yiddish campaign and
many Israeli journalists re-
fused to meet him.
We can assure the
"Kadish-adviser" that there
are many Yiddish func-
tionaries, culture-
promoters, Yiddish writers
and good-hearted Jews all
over the world who will up-
hold with all their force and
means the Yiddish lan-
guage and press and not let
them vanish.

Friday, February 6, 1981

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