Councillor Mbarki wants to discuss the discontinuation of Yiddish with the UvA
Councillor Sofyan Mbarki (Pro Amsterdam) wishes to discuss with the UvA the discontinuation of Yiddish courses after the summer. As a grant is coming to an end, the two courses will no longer be offered after the summer. JA21 wanted to know whether the council could offer a financial solution.
Councillor Sofyan Mbarki (Pro Amsterdam) would like to discuss with the UvA the preservation of Yiddish at the university. He raised this issue during a council meeting, following questions from Naomi Italiaander (JA21). It was recently announced that, after the summer holidays, it will no longer be possible to study Yiddish at the UvA. The course was funded by an external grant, which is due to end on 1 September. JA21 wanted to know whether the council could offer a financial solution.
The councillor wishes to enter into discussions with the UvA, “to look into the ins and outs”, he says in the council meeting. “I am willing to enter into discussions and hear what the underlying reasons and motives are for discontinuing this.” It would then be possible to explore whether there are any potential solutions. Mbarki calls it “a great pity” that Yiddish at the UvA “appears to be under threat”.
JA21 also mentions the €25 million fund that the city council has set aside to strengthen Jewish life in the city. JA21 wonders whether the twenty to twenty-five thousand euros needed to save Yiddish could not be taken from that fund. That is not possible, because that independent committee has yet to be established, according to Mbarki.
JA21 and the CDA say they feel a certain urgency, as the new academic year begins after the summer. “That is why I am raising this question now, rather than waiting until that committee has been established,” says Italiaander at the council meeting. When asked, Mbarki indicates he will provide feedback before the summer recess, but reiterates that he will first enter into discussions with the UvA.
The issue is also close to the heart of national politics. Previously, the SGP asked parliamentary questions about the preservation of Yiddish. The response to these questions has been postponed for the time being.
