Amid bombs, drone-strikes and blackouts, these non-Jewish Ukrainian students are studying Yiddish
Daryna Kahaniuk, a 19-year-old student of English philology at the University of Lviv, was in the middle of an online Yiddish class when the air raid started. Outside, the sirens were wailing. Her phone blared…
Assessment
A group of Ukrainian university students is choosing to study Yiddish while their country is under bombardment. The act is striking because Yiddish carries no immediate practical value in wartime. You should watch whether this represents a broader cultural shift among young Ukrainians to reclaim Jewish heritage that was nearly erased by the Holocaust and Soviet repression, or whether it remains a niche academic pursuit. The key detail is that these are non-Jewish students, which suggests something beyond ethnic identity is driving their commitment.