Yiddish must not be looked upon as a foreign language in Israel, but should be considered a second national language, since it assists in spreading Hebrew and deepens national consciousness among Jews.
This opinion is the result of a poll taken today among 20 leading members of the Israeli Parliament, representing all parties from the Mapai to Communist. The poll was conducted in connection with the intention of Minister of Interior Israel Rokach to present on Monday to the Parliament the draft of a bill to regulate the status of the foreign-language press in the country.
A delegation of editors of Hebrew newspapers recently conferred with leaders of all the parties represented in Parliament, and demanded certain restrictions for the foreign-language press, or at least to compel the foreign-language newspapers to introduce a Hebrew section in their pages. Today’s poll indicates that the party leaders are inclined to exclude the Yiddish press in Israel from any such restrictions.
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