West Coast Fieldwork from the Wexler Oral History Project

Browse photos from the Wexler Oral History Project's fieldwork on the west coast.

Published on May 05, 2023.

Christa Whitney, director of the Wexler Oral History Project, has just completed fieldwork in the Bay Area and Vancouver, BC. She recorded interviews with a wide range of narrators, including native Yiddish speakers, the grandniece of Yiddish writer Abraham Liessen (Avrom Walt), Yiddish translators (many of whom participated in the Yiddish Book Center Translation Fellowship), scholars, performers, and more. Their stories will be added to the ever-growing collection of Wexler Oral History Project interviews.  

During the same month, Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?), the Wexler Oral History Project's award-winning documentary film, had its Northern California premiere at the Oshman JCC in Palo Alto, in commemoration of Yom HaShoah. Christa attended the screening along with editor and co-director, Emily Felder.

Read about the event and an interview with Christa in an article from J. The Jewish News of Northern California.

Fieldwork in the Bay Area

Christa Whitney and Emily Felder stand in front of merch table at film screening

Emily Felder and Christa Whitney at the Northern California premiere of Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?) at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.

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Five women smiling in a line

Emily Felder and Christa Whitney with Oshman Family JCC Cultural Arts Manager Michelle Shabtai, Senior Manager of Adult Programs Michelle Rosengaus, and our patron Deborah Wexler.

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Audience watches a screen where a woman lights a yortsayt candle

Screening of Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?) at the Oshman JCC in Palo Alto. On screen, Rina Sutzkever lights a yortsayt candle at Ponar, where her grandparents and many members of her family were murdered.

 

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Three women smile at camera

Wexler Oral History Project team reunion featuring director Christa Whitney (left), former fellow and oral historian Aga Ilwicka-Karuna (center), and editor/co-director of Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?) Emily Felder (right)

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Woman wearing blue top holds a Yiddish book of poetry by her great-uncle

JoBeth Walt, holding a book of poetry written by her great-uncle, the Yiddish poet Abraham Liessin (pen name for Avrom Walt)

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Woman wearing scarf and blue shirt sits in dining room speaking to Christa Whitney as she is interviewed

Behind the scenes of JoBeth Walt's interview, filmed at her home in San Francisco

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A man and woman sit next to each other

Interview in Palo Alto with married couple Rivka Sherman-Gold and Irving Gold, both born in Displaced Persons camps in Europe right after World War 2.

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Man and woman embracing in a photograph

Rivka and Irving just weeks after they met at the Israel Institute of Technology 

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Fieldwork in Vancouver, BC

Faith Jones interviewed in front of full bookshelves

Faith Jones, library director at Columbia College, activist, and Yiddish translator, interviewed in Vancouver, BC.

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Man wearing light grey shirt and black suspenders is interviewed in front of a piano

Seymour Levitan, literary scholar, award-winning Yiddish translator and longtime coordinator of a Yiddish leyenkrayz (reading group) in Vancouver

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Christa Whitney sits at a wooden table with man wearing light blue shirt and suspenders

Seymour Levitan and Christa chat after the interview

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A man in a gray button up shirt and yellow t-shirt speaks to the camera

Michael Rom, South African-Canadian Litvak Yiddish speaker and historian of Jews in Brazil

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Christa Whitney interviews a woman wearing a maroon sweater sitting in front of a piano

Christa interviews Myrna Rabinowitz, singer and songwriter, including of original Yiddish songs (several of which she sang during the recording!)

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Christa Whitney sits on a yellow couch with Itamar Manhoff

Christa Whitney sits with Itamar Manhoff, a philosopher, educator, and Yiddish & Eastern European Jewish history class curriculum designer and facilitator. Christa and Itamar know each other from the 2018-2019 Wallace Annenberg Helix fellowship.

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Man holds up an old photograph while being interviewed

Al Stein, longtime volunteer librarian at the Peretz Yiddish Center, shows a photo of Yiddish philosopher and activist Chaim Zhitlovsky, taken in Calgary, where Al grew up. Al recalled how he conversed with Dr. Zhitlovsky at his childhood home just one day before died on a visit to Calgary.

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Woman in aqua jacket is interviewed in a living room

Gita Silver, educator and docent at the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, being interviewed in Vancouver.

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Christa Whitney interviews a woman wearing black and sitting in front of a leather sofa

Christa interviews Yiddish translator and activist for Jewish historical education in Lithuania, Rachel Mines.

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Woman wearing pink shirt is interviewed in front of white sofa

Shanie Levin, native Yiddish speaker and longtime member of Yiddish leyenkrayzn (reading groups), interviewed in Vancouver

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Woman wearing pink scarf and leggings and purple shirt is interviewed while sitting in wooden chair

Award-winning Yiddish-to-English translator, writer, and performer, Helen Mintz.

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Woman wearing glasses and pink scarf holds up book, "Vilna My Vilna"

Helen Mintz with her award-winning translation of Abraham Karpinowitz, published by Syracuse University Press.

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Two women sit in a car, one makes a peace sign and both smile at camera

Co-directors of Ver Vet Blaybn? (Who Will Remain?), Emily Felder and Christa Whitney on their way to record an interview for the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project.

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