“Our language is a treasure… the greenest leaf… a burning flame”, states the Moldovan national anthem proudly. Indeed, Moldova is a land filled with diverse languages and proud peoples. And so, last Tuesday, August 26th, 2008, the Moldovan government Department of Minority Affairs held an interethnic and multilingual theater festival in honor of the upcoming national “Our Language” holiday and the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
Among the seven different invited theater troupes was the JCC Kedem from the KJJC, who presented an assortment of short pieces in Yiddish. The group was directed by musician, journalist and Yiddish cultural activist Sergo Bengelsdorf who received a certificate at the end of the performance recognizing his work in the Moldovan art scene and in the Jewish community.

Other groups included the Roma (Gypsy) Theater Enigma romilor, the Chekhov State Russian Theater, and The Rose Street State Youth Drama Theater, an ensemble which has close ties to the Jewish community.

“You don’t need to understand the words all the time to know that these performances were special,“ said one performer from the KJJC ensemble. “We performed on one stage, we live in one country. It’s events like this which keep me optimist about our country”.