Arieh Tartakower on the Differences Between Hebrew and Yiddish Culture (1967)

In this episode from January 8, 1967, Dr. Arieh Tartakower, sociologist and chairman of the Israeli Division of the World Jewish Congress and president of the World Hebrew Confederation delivers a speech on the differences  between Hebrew and Yiddish culture, during a visit to YIVO on December 27, 1966:

"We are a people of two languages. Possibly we shall remain so. About this, I am not sure, but I am sure that we shall remain a people of two cultures–the Hebrew and the Yiddish. What has been created in Hebrew is too extensive to ever be in danger of extinction, and what has been created in Yiddish is too deeply rooted to ever disappear from Jewish life. We are a people of two cultures and we shall remain so."

From 1963-1976, YIVO had its own program on WEVD, the radio station established by the Socialist Party of America in 1927 (its call letters stand for the initials of American socialist leader Eugene V. Debs), which was purchased by the Jewish Daily Forward in 1932 and became a major venue from Yiddish programming.

YIVO used its spot on WEVD for Yiddish-language interviews and discussions with leading New York Yiddish cultural figures, as well as for reporting on its own scholarly and cultural work.

A new podcast of this program in the order in which it was originally broadcast will be posted here every two weeks.

Presentation of series curated by Matt Temkin, YIVO Sound Archives.

Listen to the program [in Yiddish].