What Is a Yekke
What Is a Yekke?
A term used to describe German Jews and Jews from the German-speaking regions of Central Europe who immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and maintained their ties to the German language and culture. In Israel, the term Yekke came to describe a person who was meticulous, honest, punctual, polite, and committed to excellence.
A Yekke is someone who says, “I’ll be there tomorrow at eight,” and shows up the next day at exactly eight.
From The Yekkes by Andreas Meyer, illustrated by Ari Ron, translated from German by Edna Fischer and Yuri Hirschfeld. Published by Noga Publishing, Nahariya, 2010
Oppenheimer, the owner of Café Penguin, asks his friend Erich, “Why did you go and eat at Fibelman’s across the street today? You’ve been eating here regularly for years!” “Sorry,” Erich replies, “but my dentist told me to eat…”
From The Yekkes by Andreas Meyer, illustrated by Ari Ron, translated from German by Edna Fischer and Yuri Hirschfeld. Published by Noga Publishing, Nahariya, 2010.
“Why are you still reading the Yekkes’ newspaper?” Yekke: “Come on! If I tried to read a newspaper in Hebrew, by the time I got halfway through it, it wouldn’t be news anymore.”
From The Yekkes by Andreas Meyer, illustrated by Ari Ron, translated from German by Edna Fischer and Yuri Hirschfeld, published by Noga Publishing, Nahariya, 2010.
