Yiddishkayt LA

Disturbed by the gradual disappearance of Yiddish language, culture and history, Aaron Paley set out to reverse this erosion by introducing new Jewish audiences to their 1,000-year-old heritage by calling on contemporary artists to reengage with classic Yiddish artifacts. In 1995, the inaugural Yiddishkayt Family Festival attracted more than 5,000 participants, and since then, its biennial celebrations have become the largest of their kind. In addition to this flagship festival, Yiddishkayt has developed other large and small cultural programs, engaged in community outreach and development, and undertaken educational programs that fit with the interests of the community. 

As Jews today live an integrated existence in North America, Yiddishkayt seeks to situate its work within a larger cultural context by producing cross-ethnic programming, including its Klezmer- Mariachi commission in 1998, the 2007 Yiddish Tango project “Una Noche Idishe,” and last fall’s The ¡Viva Yiddish! Project: The Yiddish- Latino Sound of Los Angeles. Yidbits, a bimonthly newsletter, also reaches over 7,000 people. Founder/Chair Aaron Paley brings three decades of experience in arts production, administration and planning and recently received the Stanton Fellowship to work on developing new projects to enhance civic life in Los Angeles. 

Aaron’s “vision, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit are breaking new ground in Los Angeles and forging new forms of intercultural encounter and engagement.” As Yiddishkayt continues on its quest to make Yiddish a modern gateway to Jewish identity, the hope is that “[Aaron] Paley may be elevated to a national platform.”