Mark Zaurov, an activist for Deaf Jews, spoke last week at two British venues. An expert on the history of Deaf Jews in Germany, Zaurov addressed the issue of links between anti-Semitism and audism, or prejudice against the Deaf...
by Toby Axelrod
Author of "Deaf Jews: A double cultural minority," Zaurov, 35, was born profoundly deaf - as was his older sister - to hearing parents. The family moved from Moscow to Israel in the 1970s, and settled in Germany in 1981. Zaurov - president of the Association of Deaf Jews and Descendants in Germany - is a PhD candidate in sign language, media and literature at the university of Hamburg.
In 2006, he organized an entire conference focusing on Nazi persecution of Deaf Jews and non-Jews, at the Humboldt University in Berlin. It was held under the auspices of the international Conference on the History of the Deaf, and drew hundreds of Deaf to the German capital. Among the guests were Deaf Jews who had fled Nazi Germany for Israel, and Deaf non-Jews who spoke about their ostracization and forced sterilization in the state of the so-called "master race."
Zaurov said he is now fighting to have Deaf Jews recognized as a special interest group by World Federation of the Deaf. One of his greatest frustrations is, he said, that Jewish organizations in Germany have not been supportive of his work in general.
Gehörlose Juden:
Eine doppelte kulturelle Minderheit
Mit Juden kann Pavel über das "Thema Jude" reden, aber mit Gehörlosen sei dies nicht möglich. Als Gehörloser erfuhr Pavel zuweilen auch unter Juden Stigmatisierungen. Als er sich in der Jüdischen Gemeinde in Frankfurt als Gehörloser vorstellte, gingen die dort anwesenden russischen Juden auf Distanz zu ihm...
Interessengemeinschaft Gehörloser Jüdischer Abstammung in Deutschland e.V.
Veranstaltungshinweis Leipzig:
23. Knauthainer BBW-Stammtisch - 09. November 2007, 20.00 Uhr im Freizeithaus
Thema: Gehörlose Juden und Antisemitismus, Referenzt: Mark Zaurov, Historiker, Jude, gehörlos
Musik: The Original Klezmer Brothers, Leipzig
Eintritt: 10 Euro (Ehepaare 15 Euro), ermäßigt 5 Euro
Weitere Informationen:
www.bbw-leipzig.de
© Photo by Toby Axelrod
