Second generation of immigrants from German speaking countries ("Yekkes")

Yael Ben-Mordechay spent her childhood and school years in Jerusalem. She met her husband, a kibbutznik from Ramat David, during her military service. After the marriage they first lived in his kibbutz, but then moved to Kiryat Bialik. Later they moved to Amirim, a village of vegetarians. YBM worked for a nature conservation organization for more than 20 years. Since 14 years she works as a travel guide with tourists in Israel and also with Israelis abroad (especially in Germany). She has three children and eight grandchildren. ; YBM's mother came to Palestine with her husband in 1932, their house became a place to go for new immigrants after 1933. Her father was born in Koenigsberg, but spent his childhood and youth in Montreux, Switzerland. YBM only spoke German in her family, but it was forbidden to talk German outside. Her family was typically Yekkish. All of her family members learned and used their languages in different ways. Her parents had a large Yekkish circle of friends in Jerusalem. YBM grew up in an ethnically heterogeneous quarter near the university. She noticed social differences very early. She describes the distance of the Yekkes to Jews from Eastern Europe. She thinks that her growing interest in the Arab culture was a conscious setting herself apart from her family. Her parents were against her interest in the Youth movement, although her mother came to Israel as a Zionist. ; YBM's grandmother on her mother's side came to Israel in the 1920s, she was a Hebrew teacher and acquainted with the intellectual elite. Her parents did not talk about the family history until their grandchildren showed interest. YBM had more information about her father and his three brothers, who all emigrated. Despite her early immigration, her mother had difficulties to assimilate in the Israeli society. She always said she never wanted to live anywhere else though. YBM talks about the difference between city life and the life in a kibbutz. She also talks about her school career and her resistance to her mother's wish to attend a technical college. ; Military service brought YBM to Ramat David in 1963, she met her future husband there on the first day. Initially she felt attracted to the life in a kibbutz. She tells about their wedding and the birth of their first child. She did not want her children to grow up in the children's house, so they left the kibbutz. The relationship between her husband and her parents was rather reserved in the beginning, because his family came from Poland. In contrast she was welcomed very warmly by his parents: 'Yekke' seemed to be a good predicate to them. After leaving the kibbutz, life was very difficult for YBM and her family. She got many contacts with immigrants when she was teaching Hebrew. YBM analyzes the ideology behind the children's houses in the kibbutzim. She describes her life in the town Kiryat Bialik: she a lot of friends, the atmosphere was open-minded and spontaneous (in contrast to the Yekkish way of life in her parents' house). ; YBM notices that the interests of her children's generation are more versatile than those of her own generation, which had to experience more armed conflicts. Despite the many antagonisms, YBM considers herself as Yekkish and recognizes herself when analyzing Yekkish culture and identity. She talks about her move to Amirim and her professional work. When her children went to military service she studied tourism at Haifa University. She works as a guide for tourists in Israel and for Israeli groups abroad. ; Her father visited Switzerland for professional reasons in 1965, her parents then travelled to Europe several times. YBM's first stay in Berlin at the beginning of the 1990's, together with her husband, was not easy. Nowadays she has many friends in Germany through her work and has overcome the first difficulties. She considers Germany as a Western country which is very much influenced by the United States. YBM analyzes the importance to know the German language for establishing relationships in Germany. She tells about her guided tours to concentration camps in Poland and about her encounters with young Germans in Poland. She opposes the comparison of Nazi-Germany to the Israel of today. She speaks about the Second Intifada. YBM tells about guided tours on the Golan Heights and about how tourists react to the (political) reality about which they have not been correctly informed by the media. The Holocaust once was a taboo topic for Yekkes, while Jews from Eastern Europe on the contrary have always discussed their persecution. YBM tells her husband's story, whose parents emigrated in 1937 and 1939. She also tells about a visit to Poland. ; YBM's her second daughter motivated her grandmother to tell her the family history on tape. YBM's children don't speak German and they are not interested in German or European passports. YBM analyzes the youth's attitude towards Israel and the growing tendency to emigration. She discusses Fanija Oz' book about Israelis in Berlin and analyzes the attitudes among the young generation towards Zionism and the idea of the Israeli State. YBM sees Israel as a country of migration and a model of cultural plurality. The new immigrants nowadays come with different motivations than the Zionists. YBM notices the increase of orthodoxy. Her grandchildren are very interested in the State of Israel. She describes the Mediterranean way of life. She also speaks about Arabic as compulsory subject and optional subject at school and makes observations on Israeli Arabs and the occupied areas. YBM also tells about a conference about Yekkes in Jerusalem and about invitations of former emigrants by German cities and the German-Israeli relationship today.