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2020 has signalled a new dawn for Yiddish. Hit Netflix series Unorthodox has beamed the language into millions of loungerooms for the first time. Video conferencing platforms have connected Yiddish speakers – from beginners to advanced –living in lockdown. A Yiddish translation of Harry Potter sold out in days.But in Sydney – the city that hosted Australia’s first ever Yiddish theatrical performances and was once home to the much-loved Yiddish Entertainment Group – the language has been on a ...
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In our second and final part, we meet Sydney’s last remaining formalised Yiddish group – the Sunday group – who meet once a month for a schmooze and bagel. Numbering around 30, these babyboomer women (and a small number of men) are passionate about the language’s survival. For them, Yiddish evokes childhood memories; speaking it is a tribute parent…
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In Part 1, we meet three women (Carla, Rosa and Rosita) who grew up in vibrant post-war Jewish Sydney, among a community of Yiddish speakers, Bundists and performers. The women recall a time when the Folk Centre, a small club house for Yiddish speakers located in Bondi Junction, bustled with newly arrived refugees and migrants. Central to this peri…
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