„Jesteśmy straconym pokoleniem”. Wspólnoty Żydów birobidżańskich w Izraelu: relacja z badań terenowych (lipiec 2012 r.)

“We are the lost generation”. Communities of Birobidzhan Jews in Israel: field research report (July 2012) In this article I describe the fieldwork conducted in Israel in 2012 among those who have emigrated from the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in Russia. Along with a general overview of the research I present a detailed analysis of my interlocutors’ discourses regarding the languages they speak and their attitude towards Judaism and what is commonly understood as Jewishness. I concentrate mainly on the knowledge of Yiddish (which up until now is the official language in Birobidzhan) and Hebrew, and also on the categories that define the Jewish element of identity for them.