[Cz-L] Czernowitz 2008

Shalom / sholem aleykhem

I'm glad to see some recent postings picking up the idea of a reunion in Czernowitz in
2008, one hundred years on from the first Yiddish language conference.

When I suggested the idea to the group some months ago, the response was very
encouraging. Many of you wrote with warm messages of support, including Abraham, Lucca,
Gabriele, Frieda and others.

Unfortunately, pressure of work has meant that I haven't been able to devote as much time
to the plan as I had hoped. Nor was I able to make it to the recent reunion in Israel.
However, I wanted to let you know that there is plenty of enthusiasm for the proposal
among some of the academics and Yiddishists I contacted.

Itzik Gottesman, assistant editor of the Yiddish Forwards newspapers in New York, is
planning to go to Czernowitz next year, to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather who
travelled a long way on foot to attend the 1908 conference.

Paul Glasser of the Center for Advanced Jewish Studies at YIVO in New York was also very
interested in the possibility of a gathering / conference. Aviv Livnat, a musician and
researcher at the Yiddish Institute at Tel Aviv University, is keen to get involved - his
grandfather Aryeh Merzer was a copper artist and close friend of Itzik Manger.

And finally, the UK-based historian, Dr Markus Winkler, has been very helpful in
providing contacts in the city. He lived in Czernowitz recently for 5 years doing
research, and has good contacts at the University and in the Mayor's Office, all of whom
speak good English. He has just returned from a visit to Czernowitz and says there would
definitely be interest in tying in a centenary reunion with the 600th anniversary
celebrations of the city's foundation.

Time is pressing on, but if we start soon, we could certainly do something worthwhile.
I would be happy to join with others on this list and elsewhere to begin the process of
planning and organising such an event.

Best wishes,

David (Mazower)
Received on 2007-05-06 19:30:06