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.

Celebrating the Culture That Was Nearly Lost

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Zvi Jankelowitz, director of Institutional Advancement at the Yiddish Book Center, speaks to his evolving relationship to Yiddish throughout his life as well as his appreciation for the Book Center's efforts to preserve a crucial piece of Jewish culture.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Zvi Jankelowitz.

This excerpt is in English.

Zvi Jankelowitz was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1956.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Providing the Tools that Keep the Yiddish Book Center Running

1 min 58 sec

"A Hidden South Africa": Discovering the South African Yiddish Tradition in My Work at the Yiddish Book Center

2 min 44 sec

The Language of Khurbn (Destruction)

1 min 54 sec

"Walking in as a Stranger, Leaving as Mishpokhe": Meeting with Members of the Yiddish Book Center

1 min 31 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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