About Queer Yiddish Camp

Purpose

Queer Yiddish Camp is a space for folks with various marginalized identities to have a transformative experience learning Yiddish that is accessible, affordable, reflects and celebrates the full expression of our identities, and engages with the breadth of Yiddish history, culture, and activism, which has always included trans and queer and norm-breaking ancestors.

Queer Yiddish Camp fosters opportunities for students, teachers, scholars, artists, activists, and community members, at all points along their Yiddish journey, to become empowered to grow, and innovate within and expand upon our radical diasporic queer Yiddish traditions.

Mission

Queer Yiddish Camp creates accessible, liberatory Yiddish education, scholarship, community building, and cultural activism.

Vision

Queer Yiddish Camp is co-creating a revolutionary Yiddishland where students, teachers, scholars, artists, activists, and community members are empowered in the traditions of our radical queer diasporist ancestors to learn, teach, co-create, and revolutionize Yiddish.

We believe in the liberatory potential of reclaiming our radical cultural traditions as a path towards decolonization and a world free from empire.

Where We Are

Queer Yiddish Camp is organized by people living on both sides of the Medicine Line (the colonial border dividing u.s. and canada) of Turtle Island (north america).

Our 2022 faculty live and work in five times zones: across Turtle Island, and in Palestine/israel and australia. We are grateful to get to work together, at times in person, at times in virtual Yiddishland, from the places we call home.

As we do the work to reclaim and situate ourselves in our own radical Yiddish cultures, we practice showing up as settler-immigrant Yiddishists in solidarity with Indigenous-led liberation movements on all lands.

History

Queer Yiddish Camp started as a collective dream for what a truly inclusive Yiddish language intensive program could look like if it were run by queers. Trans Yiddish learners and our queer allies were dissatisfied with the years of misgendering, othering through being told our identities were not Yiddish, and lack of inclusive and representative pedagogy, that have been taking place at other Yiddish language intensives.

Calling on these institutions to do better only got us so far. We know they should still put in the work of implementing better policies and practices, and becoming accountable to marginalized Yiddish learners, but we also know we have what it takes to radically reimagine what Yiddish programming that centers the margins can make space for: a new generation of queers who don’t have to question their belonging while falling in love with Yiddish.

For a few years we’d been meeting as queer and trans Yiddishists at Yiddish festivals and in online spaces; writing gender-inclusive policy and curriculum recommendations; giving workshops on gender-inclusive Yiddish pedagogy; staging the queer musical Tevye’s Farlozene Kinder; and building queer Yiddish community in the Facebook group queer yiddishkayt and through the all-levels Zoom meetups Queer Yiddishist Shmueskrayzn.

What did passionate queers do when we wanted to intensively study Yiddish language and deeply engage with the full breadth of Yiddish culture from our queer mentors? We created Queer Yiddish Camp!

Our Values

Queer Yiddish Camp values anti-oppression, centering the margins, accessibility, a culture of care and accountability, radical learning and pedagogy, challenging the canon, doikayt (hereness), cross-cultural solidarity, and nationhood not nationalism.

ANTI-OPPRESSION & INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM

Anti-Oppression

Queer Yiddish Camp has a zero-tolerance policy toward any acts of discrimination, harassment, ridicule, or violence (verbal, written, physical, sexual, or otherwise) towards any student, teacher, volunteer, administrator, or any person or group, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, national origin, class, age, sexual orientation, gender, relationship status, mental health, disability, body size, history of sex work, HIV status, undocumented status, or any other systemically marginalized identity or perceived identity.

Forefronting Marginalized Identities

We are committed to forefronting marginalized identities in leadership & participation as a queer-normative space and providing scholarships prioritizing Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, and all People of Color; trans, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer folks; and D/deaf, disabled, crip, mad, neurodivergent folks.

Diverse Cultural Identities

Queer Yiddish Camp acknowledges that Yiddish is a language that belongs to Jews from many cultural and racialized backgrounds including Ashkenazi Jews who are Indigenous, Black, Latinx, Asian, Jews of Color, white, white-passing, and Jews from mixed cultural or racialized backgrounds. Our community includes Mizrahi, Sephardi, and other non-Ashkenazi Jews choosing to learn Yiddish, as well as non-Jews who wish to respectfully engage with our cultures and are integral to our queer Yiddishist communities.

We acknowledge that although Yiddish is vastly underfunded by the mainstream Jewish establishment, it nonetheless continues to receive a much higher proportion of funding than any other marginalized Jewish language due to the privileging of white-assimilated Ashkenazi culture within many Jewish communities.

Queer-Normative Space

Queer Yiddish Camp welcomes folks from of all genders and sexual orientations. Our community is queer-normative and queer-centering. We set the queer perspective as the default, forefront knowledge from the margins, and question unjust norms in the tradition of our radical ancestors.

CARE & COMMUNITY

Accessibility

We recognize that the needs of disabled, low-income, and geographically isolated participants, parents, and others who historically face barriers to access are often overlooked in Jewish and/or language-education programming. We recognize these spaces often make assumptions about how much and what kind of prior exposure students have had to cultural, religious, historical, linguistic, and grammatical concepts, and that this leaves some students feeling excluded. See our Accessibility Practices for how we strive to meet the widest variety of needs.

Culture of Care & Accountability

We are creating a supportive community where everyone’s whole being matters; mistakes happen and are addressed; and we take accountability for how we treat each other.

See our Community Agreements & our Conflict Navigation Practices.

Non-hierarchy

We are fostering a community where collaboration and support rather than competition and individual expertise is uplifted. We are grateful for the expertise of our brilliant Yiddish teachers and workshop facilitators while recognizing that we each have important knowledge to share with each other, and we make efforts to teach and learn from one another. Queer Yiddish Camp has a director and a board of organizers, but we strive towards a non-hierarchical model where leadership rotates, responds, and comes from all directions.

CULTURE OF CURIOSITY & INNOVATION

Learning

Judaism places a strong emphasis on the importance of learning and we believe that learning our diverse histories is foundational to reclaiming our cultural inheritance as Yiddish queers. We believe in making learning experiences accessible, non-hierarchical, and a practice of mutual aid.

Challenging the canon

Many of us were taught that Yiddish literature, and Yiddish culture more broadly, has a canon of certain cis straight men. We call attention to the fact that it was those cis straight men who, from their positions of power, picked themselves as canon. We seek to disrupt this misleading history of Yiddish culture, and forefront the works of queers, trans folks, women, and non-conformists who have historically been on the margins of recognition by those in positions of authority.

RADICAL DIASPORISM

Doikayt (Hereness)

Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz z”l (of blessed memory) wrote about radical diasporism as “What do I mean by home? Not the nation state; not religious worship; not the deepest grief of a people marked by hatred. I mean a commitment to what is and is not mine; to the strangeness of others, to my strangeness to others…Diasporism takes root in the Jewish Socialist Labor Bund’s principle of doikayt—hereness—the right to be, and to fight for justice, wherever we are.”

If diasporas are traditionally defined from a geographic center and origin story, mythic or otherwise, a radical diaspora decenters the center, inviting a radically reimagined dispersed global community of Yiddishists whose center, and source of connection, is polyvocal Yiddish culture.

Cross-Cultural Solidarity

We believe that there can only ever be safety for us as Jews and Yiddishists in the cross-cultural solidarity that comes from relationship-building across cultures, deep engagement with marginalized-led movements, and consistently showing up for each other. Queer Yiddish Camp commits to redistributing a portion of our proceeds to Indigenous, Black, POC, and non-Western liberation movements.

Nationhood not Nationalism

We believe in a world free of the imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and state-nationalism that our ancestors have at times both been persecuted by and benefited from, and we believe that reclaiming heritage cultures is a key part of bringing about this transformation and liberation.

Accessibility Practices

Queer Yiddish Camp strives to meet the widest variety of needs by:

Inquiring on our application form about access needs;
Committing to providing scholarships for a large percentage of our students;
Committing a portion of our fundraising budget to increasing digital access;
Training our staff and faculty on accessibility needs and tools;
Using accessibility tools in our online communication (website, emails) and event settings (Zoom rooms, etc) including providing image descriptions, closed captions, screen-readable text, etc;
Scheduling no more than 2 classes a day that run no longer than 75 minutes each with a break in between;
Sending out instructional videos on how to use Zoom, Slack, and other online tools and being available for additional support;
Providing all course materials so that none need to be purchased by participants;
Holding events at different times of day so folks in different time zones have the chance to join in real-time;
Recording our events so folks who can’t join live can access the materials;
Not assuming shared background knowledge when presenting new material.

Anti-Oppression Commitments

Queer Yiddish Camp has a zero-tolerance policy toward any acts of discrimination, harassment, ridicule, or violence (verbal, written, physical, sexual, or otherwise) towards any student, teacher, volunteer, administrator, or any person or group, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, language, national origin, class, age, sexual orientation, gender, relationship status, mental health, disability, body size, history of sex work, HIV status, undocumented status, or any other systemically marginalized identity or perceived identity.

Community Agreements

We respect people’s marginalized identities: No racism, homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, biphobia, lesbophobia, femmephobia, whorephobia, sexism, ableism, sanism, classism, ageism, sizeism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, faith-bashing or other oppressive attitudes or behaviors towards camp attendees, faculty, staff, or groups as a whole.
What’s shared stays; what’s learned leaves: We ensure confidentiality and don’t share other people’s stories in other spaces or with other people unless we have confirmation from the person sharing that it is ok to do so.
We take responsibility for our learning by coming to class prepared, asking questions, following up about missed materials, etc.
We don’t assume anyone’s race, dis/ability, gender identity, or pronouns. If we forget someone’s pronouns, we ask.
We update our Zoom name to include our pronouns, and respect that not everyone is comfortable sharing their pronouns and we don’t insist everyone do so.
We don’t assume shared background knowledge and explain obscure terms or niche knowledge, Jewish or otherwise.
We are patient with slower speakers. Any and all efforts to express oneself in Yiddish are encouraged.
We avoid jumping in and correcting others or offering comments when it’s someone else’s turn, unless they specifically asked the group for input.
We are mindful of our positions of privilege and how we show up in group spaces. We do not expect people of marginalized identities to hold space for our feelings or learning process around their identities, (for example we do not express difficulty with learning pronouns to trans people and instead seek support from other cis (non-trans) people in doing this learning).
We are mindful of the space we take up and share talking time with all others.
- Make Space: If you tend to be someone who talks a lot, make space for others before sharing.
- Take Space: If you tend to be someone who doesn’t take space, you are encouraged to.
We keep ourselves muted when it’s not our time to speak.
We assume best intentions and give opportunities for harm to be repaired, seeking accountability for specific behaviors without attacking a person’s character, in person or online.
If someone points out something we said or did was harmful, we avoid getting defensive, correct the harm whenever possible, and aim to do better next time.

Conflict Navigation Practices

If you feel that you are experiencing discrimination, harassment, or violence, or observe these directed towards another student, teacher, volunteer, or administrator, Queer Yiddish Camp recommends, if you or another person feel safe to do so, telling the person acting in an offensive manner in a clear and unambiguous way that their conduct is unwelcome and that you want it to stop. They may not be aware that their conduct is unwelcome or offensive, and we assume best intentions as a first step.

However, if you are uncomfortable taking this action or if the conduct does not cease after you have expressed to the offending person(s) to stop, you should bring the issue to the Queer Yiddish Camp Ombudsperson, who can be reached through an anonymous-optional Google form (with follow up via phone or video call if needed). If necessary, the Ombudsperson shall bring the matter to the relevant administrators for investigation, determination, and resolution, all of whom will maintain full confidentiality.

You are encouraged to report all concerns about inappropriate actions as soon as possible so that the matter can be fairly resolved in a timely way. When bringing a matter forward, please provide Queer Yiddish Camp with the following details:

Date(s), time(s), and location(s) the incident(s) took place;
Description of each incident: any (physical, verbal, written, sexual, etc.) contact made, what was said and/or done, your response to the conduct, etc.;
Name(s) of all witnesses to each incident;
Anyone with whom you’ve discussed the incident(s).

All reports of discrimination, harassment, or violence brought to the Ombudsperson will be investigated in a timely, thorough and — to the greatest extent possible — confidential manner. Queer Yiddish Camp will not tolerate retaliation against any student, teacher, volunteer, or staff member for cooperating in an investigation into a matter or for making a truthful report to the Ombudsperson regarding discrimination, harassment, or violence. If the matter involves the Ombudsperson, the report should be made to one of the administrators.

If Queer Yiddish Camp determines that a violation of the anti-oppression and community agreement policies has occurred, accountability measures will be taken appropriate to the circumstances. In our commitment to racial justice and to dismantling the carceral state, we emphasize alternatives to policing or punishment in favor of transformative justice solutions. Accountability actions may include discussion, coaching, training, or consequences, up to and including removal from the program. Participants will not be reimbursed their tuition fees if asked to leave the program.

Special Thanks

Illustrations by Shifra Whiteman | Website Accessibility Audit by Nina Grauer | UX/UI Consultation by Ellie Keller | Web Development by Amy Carney

We gratefully acknowledge the support of documentation from KlezKanada, SVARA, and Sustainable Economies Law Centre in helping us shape our community policies and practices.

Thank you to Inclusive Communication Services for supporting us in providing ASL services.

ICS is a certified woman-owned interpreting and translation agency providing sign language, spoken language, captioning, and accessible media services that meet ADA compliance. We’re committed to making communication more inclusive for Deaf, Blind, hard-of-hearing, non-English speaking, and queer communities. Our goal is to be an affordable, reliable resource for all your accessibility needs.