News & Features

by ROBERTA NEWMAN In September 1953, Yedies celebrated the 15th anniversary of the YIVO Library and Archives in America with a detailed account of its history, beginning with the establishment of its predecessor, the Central Jewish Library and Archives, which had its first headquarters at 1133 Broadway, an office building which ...

Piotr Matywiecki of Warsaw, Poland has been named the recipient of the 2014 Karski Award. This annual award was endowed by Professor Jan Karski in 1992 for an author of published works documenting Polish-Jewish relations and Jewish contributions to Polish culture.

The winner was chosen by the Award Committee, whose members are Prof. Pawel Spiewak (Director, Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw), Dr. Jonathan Brent (Executive Director YIVO Institute for Jewish Research), Dr. Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov, Prof. Szymon Rudnicki, Dr. Joachim S. Russek, Prof. Jerzy Tomaszewski, and Prof. Feliks Tych. The award ceremony will be held in September at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw.

On Thursday, July 17, 2014, The New York Times reported on the shutting down of the offices of the Congress for Jewish Culture. The organization was founded by writers and intellectuals in 1948 to promote the work of Yiddish language and culture and once also had offices in Paris and Buenos Aires.

Read more about the Congress for Jewish Culture.

The newly donated records will join an existing collection of Congress for Jewish Culture in the YIVO Archives (Record Group 1148).

This broadcast from February 14th, 1965 presents excerpts from the paper, “The Philosophy of the New Jewish Translation of the Torah into English” delivered by Dr. Harry (Tsvi Orlinsky), at YIVO’s annual conference, which had taken place the month before. Orlinsky was editor in chief of the Torah for The ...

Dr. Gennady Estraikh has been appointed YIVO’s first Albert B. Ratner Visiting Scholar in East European Jewish Literature for the fall semester 2014. The Albert B. Ratner Visiting Scholar in East European Jewish Literature is made possible with the generous support of the Seedlings Foundation.

Dr. Estraikh is an internationally recognized authority on Yiddish language and literature and Eastern European Jewish history. As the Albert B. Ratner Visiting Scholar, he will teach the course "Modernism in Yiddish Literature," give public presentations on the American Jewish novelist Howard Fast, and chair a symposium on Ukranian literary figure Taras Shevchenko. In addition, Estraikh will mentor YIVO fellows, conduct research and participate in the academic life of the YIVO Institute.

Leah Falk interviews Faith Jones, Jennifer Kronovet, and Samuel Solomon on their translation of Celia Dropkin’s poems in The Acrobat.

The first session of this year’s summer program theater class workshop met in an especially theatrical setting – the loft of New York’s acclaimed Circus Amok. Led by theater workshop instructors Jenny Romaine and Shane Baker, and special guest Itzik Gottesman, the students listened to ghost stories and “roasted marshmallows.”

by ROBERTA NEWMAN In 1945, YIVO announced an essay contest on the theme of "My Experiences and Observations as a Jew and a Soldier in World War II." Fifty-two essays were received as submissions and in December 1946, Yedies reported on the award of prizes to the winners. The contest may have ...

(NEW YORK, July 8, 2014) – The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Gennady Estraikh as the first Albert B. Ratner Visiting Scholar in East European Jewish Literature. Dr. Estraikh will be in residence for the fall semester 2014. The Albert B. Ratner ...

by JENNIFER YOUNG

Every summer since 1968, YIVO’s Uriel Weinreich Summer Program has welcomed students of all ages and backgrounds to New York City, united in the common goal of immersing themselves in Yiddish language, literature, and culture. Our 38 students this year come from places such as France; China; and Boro Park, Brooklyn; as well as from Poland, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, and Israel, and range in age from 17 to 74. This year, for the first time, the program is being held right here at YIVO, giving students even more opportunity to get to know YIVO, and for us to get to know them.

We began this past week by welcoming just our Elementary class, helping to ease the transition from their languages of daily use to a complete Yiddish immersion. One student told me that her teacher had assured her that within a few weeks, she would be dreaming in Yiddish. “Dreaming in Yiddish, can you imagine?” the student said to me. “Right now I’m just dreaming of dreaming in Yiddish!” Our faculty for the Elementary classes include Paula Teitelbaum, a native Yiddish speaker from Poland and a veteran YIVO Yiddish teacher; Sarah Ponichtera, a 2004 graduate of the summer program who now works as an archivist at the Center for Jewish History; and Eve Jochnowitz, also an alum, who runs our Elementary Yiddish classes during the year. Sheva Zucker, also a senior YIVO faculty member, joins us this year as academic advisor, meeting with the students individually and helping to tailor the program to match their needs.