Jordan Kutzik is the deputy editor of the Yiddish Forward. Contact him at [email protected].
Jordan Kutzik
By Jordan Kutzik
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Culture New Yiddish Journal Launches In Style
On August 3 more than 100 people packed the second floor of Solas, a trendy bar in the East Village. Over the din of music by Nicki Minaj and Drake, a group of people huddled in a corner discussing stills from a new website being displayed on a laptop. A passerby, seeing a large group…
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Culture New York Gets the Biggest Yiddish Festival of All
The largest Yiddish cultural festival since the 1930s is coming to New York. Kulturfest: The First Chana Mlotek International Festival of Jewish Performing Arts, of which the Forward is a media sponsor, will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene with a weeklong series of Jewish music, theater, film and art events….
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Opinion How Much Yiddish Do You Know? Hopefully More Than Buzzfeed.
Imagine if a quiz on a popular website asked “How Much Spanish Do You Know?” and then proceeded to provide its readers with a list of words alternating between misspelled Spanish curses, some real words that weren’t actually Spanish and pure gibberish. It’s hard to imagine such a quiz being published outside of the realm…
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The Schmooze How Ziggy Gruber Became a ‘Deli Man’
Photo courtesy Cohen Media Group A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. Like many other aspects of Ashkenazi Jewish culture, old-time Jewish delicacies are becoming harder and harder to find. In 1931 there were more than 2,500 delis and 150 kosher dairy restaurants in New York City alone; today there are only 21…
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Culture Joshua Fishman, Yiddishist and Linguistics Pioneer, Dies at 88
A version of this piece appeared in Yiddish here. Sociolinguist, Yiddish scholar and advocate for endangered languages Joshua (Shikl) Fishman died March 1 in New York. He leaves behind his wife of more than 60 years Gella Schweid-Fishman, three sons, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his sister, the Yiddish poet Rukhl…
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Culture Celebrating the Life and Career of Yiddish Theater Legend Mina Bern
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. A large crowd filled the main auditorium at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan on January 11 to see a memorial program in honor of the life and work of the Yiddish actress Mina Bern. During the concert a dozen singers, actors and musicians performed…
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Film & TV The Yiddish Path to Acting Fame and Fortune
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here Like all actors attempting to break into the notoriously difficult profession, Michael Levi Harris is seeking to stand out. Luckily, Harris has a talent that is almost unique: he has an exceptional knack for languages. Not only can Harris speak many tongues but he also has…
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Opinion ‘Pallywood’ Killing Was Exactly What It Looked Like
Still from CCTV footage of the West Bank killing / Youtube The fatal shooting of two Palestinian teens in the West Bank this summer? Not faked. Not “Pallywood.” Not even close. It was exactly what it appeared to be. On May 15, four Palestinians, three of them children, were shot in the town of Bitunya…
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