"Yiddishists for Palestine": Diasporism and Solidarity through Twenty-First Century Yiddish Song

ABSTRACT: As many young Jews grow increasingly alienated from Zionist narratives, some have found a space for expressions of diasporism and solidarity with Palestinians in the international Yiddishist music scene. This article examines four twenty-first century Yiddish songs that refer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and express solidarity with Palestinians: "Ver Tantzt" by Black Ox Orkestar, "Dumai" by Daniel Kahn, "A shtik fun harts" by Josh Waletzky and Michael Winograd, and "Qibya" by Koyt far dayn fardakht. These songs were compiled by the authors as part of the group "Yiddishist with Palestine," an online gathering of Yiddishist activists that started during the 2021 Gaza war, discussing strategies for expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Yiddishist communal spaces. Through textual, contextual, and musical analysis, and drawing on theories of diaspora and diasporism, the article explores the various ways these songs express Jewish solidarity with Palestinians.