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Forwards, July 13, 2001
LETTER FROM STRASBOURG
A Gust of Wind, Rain, a Crash, Then Death at Yiddish Concert
By RAFAEL GOLDWASER
This was not the way our concert was supposed to end. We had set out to
breathe new life into Yiddish culture here in Strasbourg, near the
French-German border in the heart of Europe. Last Friday we reaped death.
The little tent had been set up under the trees to serve as a refreshment
area for the audience during intermission. When the storm came, about 120
audience members rushed there to escape the rain, while the performers
retreated to a lounge area behind the stage. The rain was not heavy, but the
winds were fierce. One terrible, gale-force gust uprooted a huge plane tree
towering over the makeshift shelter and brought it crashing down, crushing the
people underneath. 11 people were killed, most of them teenagers, and 84 more
were wounded, 17 of them seriously, according to police.
The program was a musical performance by a group called "Les Yiddishe Papas
et Mamas." It was an outdoor concert that took place Friday night in Chateau de
Portales park as part of the Summer Animations culture festival sponsored by
the city of Strasbourg.
The audience was a mixture of Jews and non-Jews, all faithful fans of this
much-loved singing group, which itself is composed of Jews and non-Jews. About
150 people were in attendance, many of them teenagers and young parents with
their children. Yiddish culture has developed a devoted following here over the
last decade or so, reviving an ancient tradition in the region where the
language was born more than 1,000 years ago.
There had been warnings of storms the afternoon before the concert from the
meteorological service. Magistrates will be investigating the events, we are
told, but those involved say there was no reason to suspect any real threat to
public safety.
Already there are voices whispering that the catastrophe was the hand of God,
acting in response to the staging of a secularist Yiddish cultural event on the
Sabbath eve. We have heard that sort of talk before. Some religious people say
the same sorts of things about the Shoah. Does that make Hitler God's angel? Is
our love of Jewish culture less profound than another's?
There are comforts, to be sure. Thanks to the efforts of local artists and
writers, Yiddish culture is truly beginning to blossom here in Strasbourg. A
summer Yiddish course, beginning next week, has enrolled more than 40 people
from all over the world, including seven young students invited from the former
Soviet bloc - even from Lithuania, once the capital of the Yiddish world - as
well as students from Italy, Germany and Cyprus.
Still, the magnitude of our catastrophe has scarcely begun to sink in. Our
prime minister, Lionel Jospin, has sent condolences to the victims and their
families. The mayor of Strasbourg, Fabienne Keller, came in person to offer her
sympathy, although not everyone was happy to see her. Some of our local
Yiddishists are angry at the newly-elected mayor and her right-wing governing
coalition, which recently decided to cancel the funding promised by the former
Socialist city government for a Yiddish festival planned for next November.
Doubts have also been raised about the promised funding for a European Center
for Yiddish Culture, which was supposed to open in 2004.
The mayor is not responsible for the tornado, of course. For some of us,
though, it feels as though we are in a season of catastrophes, one following
another.
In the flood of telephone calls and emails we have received since the storm,
most voices have been warm and sympathetic - though they have followed certain
patterns. Reactions from Argentinian Jews, for instance, have speculated that
our disaster was the work of terrorists. To each his own ghosts.
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