Israel's cultural space is frequently studied as if it were synonymous with the Hebrew-Israeli one. But within the borders of Israel, a fascinating culture was (and continues to be) created in many different languages other than Hebrew, reflecting its reality from angles that the makers of Hebrew-Israeli culture did not know and all too often lacked the tools to express.
I Am Your Dust: Representations of the Israeli Experience in Yiddish Prose, 1948-1967 expands the boundaries of current studies of Israel's cultural history by presenting and analyzing Yiddish-Israeli prose written during the country's first two decades as an independent state. It offers a comprehensive study of that unique, and hitherto little understood, literature, a detailed historical documentation of the contexts of its production, and an eye-opening comparison of its themes to the more familiar outputs of Hebrew-Israeli prose.
I Am Your Dust is the first socioliterary investigation of Yiddish-Israeli culture, and it explores how Yiddish-Israeli writers played a vital role in shaping the country's cultural identity in its early years.

Contenu

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: Yiddish in Israel: A Cultural History, 1948-1967
1. Tel Aviv After the Holocaust: A Yiddish Metropolis?

May the Place Comfort You: Memory, Space, and Consolidation of National Identity in the Yiddish Press
Part II: The Israeli Experience in Yiddish Prose, 1948-1967
1. The Nostalgic Paradox of Yiddish Prose
Israeli Spaces in Yiddish Prose
Conclusion: The End of Yiddish Culture and the Invention of an Israeli-Jewish Identity
Appendix A: Biographical Details of Yiddish Writers and Journalists in Israel
Appendix B: Global Centers of Yiddish Culture, 1948-1967
Notes
Bibliography
Index