The difficulties faced by the Ministry of Education in promoting the teaching of Yiddish in Rumania’s state schools are emphasized in a report made public here today by Mrs. Polea Barasch, Inspector-General for Yiddish Education.
The editing of new Yiddish textbooks, the reported pointed out, was hampered by the fact that no Yiddish typists or linotype operators could be found, making it necessary to first train such personnel before publication of the books could be undertaken. Up to now seven Yiddish textbooks have been printed. They are being used in Rumanian state schools and are on sale in all bookshops, the report declared.
The inspector-general listed as another hardship which had to be overcome at the beginning of the school year the fact that not all the Yiddish teachers who could be employed utilized the same Yiddish spelling. Courses were organized to train these teachers in the phonetic spelling in use in the Soviet Union, she added.
At present there are three all-Yiddish elementary schools in Bucharest, Timisoara and Jassy, and Yiddish courses were begun during the year in 40 schools through out the country which have large numbers of Jewish students, the report stated. Seven thousand pupils took these courses, while 90 Yiddish teachers were on the government payroll by the end of the year.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
