The Ashkenazi Revolution

218uproot this fatalism and to inculcate an aggressive optimism. The mainlearning material, in the early grades of our schools, is the Bible. Thesepeoples always studied the Bible and in its merit they existed, but in spiteof this they were inundated with Muslim fatalism! There is only onemedicine that can cure this dread disease, and that is the study of Yiddish.The great optimism that is engrained in Yiddish will expel the Orientalfatalism and create a new soul in the hearts of these poor children. OnlyYiddish can transport them from the 14 th , or 15 th , centuries to the twentiethcentury. The Sephardo-Mizrahi population already exists within theAshkenazi historic flow; it is surrounded by the Ashkenazi world andabsorbs, into itself, Ashkenazi concepts, so why should it not learnYiddish? Moreover: There is an honorable precedent for theentrenchment of an international European language in the Levant. Here Ispeak of Greek, which prevailed, during Hellenistic times, among theoriental peoples and became their own language until the Arab conquest.Modern Hebrew is a leap backward, in the framework of time, and ittherefore cannot bring the twentieth century to the backward people. OnlyYiddish can accomplish such a wonder.Our experiments in advancing the backward people through ModernHebrew are not new. Eliezer Ben Yehuda started this eighty years ago, andthe results are those that the superintendent of education noted in hisspeech. We do not have unlimited time for experiments, and not justbecause of the needs of the state, but for an additional reason: There is aforeign power that stalks us to foil our success. Christianity knows thetruth and is setting its eyes upon the Sephardo-Mizrahi masses that havelost their way. Our efforts to elevate them and give them identity and formthrough Modern Hebrew have failed. Now these masses stand betweenYiddish and the cross. If Yiddish is not brought to them, the cross willcome to them. The social collapse is likely to bring religious collapse,mass conversion to Christianity and even international difficulties againstthis backdrop. Everything is possible if we wish to maintain a state thatsees, as its primary goal not the benefit of its citizens but a linguisticmission for the benefit of Modern Hebrew.