The Yiddish Book Center's
Wexler Oral History Project
A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.
How My Jewish Identity Changed Over the Years
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John (Yankl) Zeleznikow, scholar of information systems whose parents owned the famed Cafe Scheherezade Jewish restaurant in Melbourne, talks about the evolution of his Jewish identity and relationship to Yiddish. When he was young, it was more of his parents identity but as he grew older, his thoughts on Yiddish, Israel, and religion became his own. He also talks about the importance of identifying with a Jewish community and how religion plays a role in that.
This is an excerpt from an oral history with John (Yankl) Zeleznikow.
This excerpt is in Yiddish and English.
