Yiddish Draws a New Generation as Israel Divides Jewish Communities

Nearly 300,000 people worldwide are studying Yiddish on Duolingo, with 60% of learners under the age of 25, according to NPR. The surge in interest comes at a time when debates over Israel—intensified since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the ensuing Gaza war—are creating deep divisions within Jewish communities, driving younger generations to seek alternative ways of connecting with their heritage.

A Language Reborn

Yiddish, the historic language of Ashkenazi Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, was spoken by approximately 11 million people before World War II. The Holocaust decimated the Yiddish-speaking population, and post-war assimilation in the United States, combined with the adoption of Hebrew as Israel’s official language, pushed the language to the brink of extinction. For decades, Yiddish was associated with loss and the old world.

But the pandemic sparked a remarkable revival. The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research went from 4 online Yiddish classes in spring 2020 to 21 classes by spring 2021, as reported by Tablet Magazine. Duolingo launched its Yiddish course in April 2021, making the language accessible to a global audience at no cost.

Young Learners, New Motivations

For many young Jewish Americans, learning Yiddish offers a way to engage with their identity that feels separate from the politics of Israel. Lindsey Bloom, a senior at Mount Holyoke College, told NPR she had stopped engaging with her Judaism because she didn’t know where to go—until she discovered Yiddish.

“I’ve definitely talked to quite a few people that just stopped engaging with their Judaism because they didn’t know where to go,” Bloom said. “That was the case for me. And then I got into Yiddish, and I was, like, oh, this is actually a lot better. I actually align with this a lot more.”

Sally Kaye, a senior at Barnard College in Manhattan who is also learning Yiddish, described the difficulty of navigating traditional Jewish spaces. “It’s hard to be, a lot of the times, in synagogue spaces and kind of traditional religious spaces that have been so focused on supporting Israel no matter what,” Kaye said.

A Generational Divide on Israel

The trend reflects a broader realignment of American Jewish identity. Pew Research Center data shows that Jewish Americans ages 50 and older are much more emotionally attached to Israel than younger Jewish Americans—a pattern that predates the October 7 attacks. More recent polling underscores the widening gap: a March 2025 Gallup survey found only 46% of Americans expressed support for Israel, the lowest level in 25 years, while 33% sympathized with Palestinians, the highest ever recorded, as reported by the BBC.

Mindl Cohen, academic director of the Yiddish Book Center and a visiting professor at Mount Holyoke College, said engaging with Yiddish culture offers young Jews a way to explore questions about identity and diaspora.

“The idea of ‘what did it mean for Jews to exist as diasporic people for centuries’ I think can be really inspiring and just provocative for young Jews today, who maybe don’t like aspects of what they see in the politics of the Jewish state of Israel and are trying to think, well, what are ways to change that? What are the different models?” Cohen said.

Institutional Support and Cultural Creativity

The Workers Circle, a Jewish social justice organization headquartered in New York City, claims to be one of the largest providers of Yiddish language classes in the world. Francesca Rubinson, senior social justice organizer, said the organization is creating space for young people to explore Yiddish culture through its college ambassador program.

“It’s been so meaningful for many young people these days, post Oct. 7, to explore what Yiddish language and culture can mean for them, especially because many of them had Yiddish speakers in their own family just a couple generations ago,” Rubinson said. “And due to assimilation, cultural shifts, the prominence of Zionism and of Israel in many Jewish institutions, there has often been less interest or less institutional support for exploring Yiddish language and culture.”

Bloom, who is part of the Workers Circle college ambassador program, performs in a Yiddish singing duo called Khaverte and recently translated Chappell Roan’s “The Subway” into Yiddish. “Playing with the language and playing with the art and making new things, I really, really like it. I like making new Yiddish things,” she said.

What’s Next for the Yiddish Revival

The Yiddish revival raises broader questions about the future of American Jewish identity. As younger Jews increasingly seek cultural connection outside the framework of support for Israel, institutions that have long centered Zionism as a core pillar of Jewish life may need to adapt. The phenomenon also highlights the enduring appeal of diaspora Jewish culture—a heritage that, for centuries before Israel’s founding, sustained Jewish communities across Europe and beyond.

Whether this cultural shift translates into lasting political change remains an open question. But for the thousands of young people opening Duolingo to learn a language their grandparents spoke, the motivation is clear: a desire to connect with their roots on their own terms.