Thursdays, 4pm
Kadimah Yiddish Show, presented by Alex Dafner, consists Jewish and Yiddish-related current events from Australia and the world, Yiddish songs, cultural, literary, theatrical and comedy segments and events related to the Jewish calendar, such as holidays, celebrations, commemorations and anniversaries. Occasionally, the program features interviews with local and overseas Yiddishists and, of course announcements, of Kadimah and Yiddish-related events.
Alex was born in Lodz, Poland, to a Yiddish-speaking family and attended the local I. L. Perets Jewish school, before migrating to Australia in 1959 at the age of 10. He has presented the Kadimah Yiddish Show and co-presented Shlepping and Shmoozing, with Leon Gettler on J-AIR, almost from its inception. He joined J-AIR after a 33-year career as executive producer and presenter of the Yiddish-language radio program and trainer of journalists at SBS Radio Melbourne.
He was also the instigator, curriculum writer and teacher of VCE Yiddish in Victoria at Mount Scopus College and the King David School and was a long-serving president of the Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library Kadimah.
Listen On Demand
5 Jun 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 5th June, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember the most beloved composer of Yiddish songs Mordkhe Gebirtig e”h, on the occasion of his tragic yortzayt-death anniversary on the 4th of June.
29 May 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 29th May, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we hear a short history of Melbourne’s 114 year old Yiddish oriented Kadimah Jewish Cultural Centre and National Library.
22 May 2026, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 22nd May, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we celebrate the festival of Shavuot and also honour the memory of the great Yiddish comic Yisroel Szumacher on the occasion of his yortsayt-death anniversary.
15 May 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 15th May, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we hear an interview with Mikhl Yashinsky about the so-called Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, Detective Max Shpitzkopf and other things, conducted on Boston’s Yiddish Voice program.
8 May 2026, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 8th May, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we commemorate the 8th May, anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the bloody Second World War and hear a Jewish Red Army officer talk about two decisive battles that led to that victory.
1 May 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 1st May 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and on this 1st of May we hear a little about the history of this workers’ day here in Australia, around the world and among Jewish workers. And on the occasion of his yortsayt-death anniversary, we remember the so called Poet of the Holocaust Itzhak Katzenelson e”h.
24 Apr 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 24th April, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember the Vilnius partisan, poet and great Yiddish song composer Shmerke Kaczerginski, e”h, and as tomorrow is ANZAC Day, we commemorate and honour the Australian Jewish ANZAC combatants.
17 Apr 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 17th April, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we approach the significant dates of the 19th April, the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and Israel’s Remembrance Day and Independence Day, we focus on these significant three dates in today’s program.
10 Apr 2026, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 10th April, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, and as we’ve just ended Passover we entertain ourselves with a bitter-sweet Sholem Aleichem Passover story and reflect on how this festival of freedom is closely linked with the start of the heroic Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
3 Apr 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 3rd April, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and in honour of the yortsayt-death anniversary of the so called “Father of Modern Yiddish Literature”, I L Peretz e”h, we hear a little about him and a few of his wonderful creations.
27 Mar 2026, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 27th March, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we are preparing for the joyous festival of Passover we entertain ourselves with two pre-Passover stories by our Yiddish classicists Mendele Mocher Sforim and Sholem Aleichem.
20 Mar 2026, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 20th March, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we find ourselves in a state of deep concern for Israel and Jewish communities around the world, we lift our spirits a little with some Yiddish humour from previous tough times for Israel and the Jewish people.
13 Mar 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 13th March, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we hear about Jewish women’s contribution to the struggle for rights and equality and about their contribution to Yiddish culture, literature and poetry.
9 Mar 2026, 12pm Kadimah Yiddish Show, 6th March, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember Dr Emanuel Ringelblum e”h and play some inspiring songs of courage and hope.
27 Feb 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 27th February, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we’re preparing for the joyous festival of Purim, the happiest day on the Jewish calendar, we entertain ourselves with some rousing Purim Songs and Purim stories.
20 Feb 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 20th February, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we recall two of the most popular Yiddish poets, writers in pre-war Poland Zusman Segalowicz and Itzik Manger e”h.
13 Feb 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 13th February, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and on the occasion of his yortsayt – death anniversary we remember the great Yiddish novelist and older brother of Isaac Bashevis Singer, Israel Joshua Singer e”h.
6 Feb 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 6th February, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and in consideration of the historic days we are living through currently in Australia we present a short history of the esteemed Jewish presence in Australia, from the beginning of the colony in 1788 until today.
30 Jan 2026, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 30th January, 2026 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, we commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day of the 27th January, we hear about the history of Nazism in Australia and we remember the Australian Yiddish author Hertz Bergner e”h.
26 Dec 2025, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 26th December, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we mark the anniversary of the founding of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, on this day in 1936 and hear the captivating story of its foundation, founders, musicians and conductors and beautiful music. And the Kadimah Yiddish Show is on a break until the end of January 2026. So, a happy, healthy and peaceful 2026
19 Dec 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 19th December, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we’re in the midst of the Chanukah festival of Lights, we hear another interesting historical perspective on the festival, as well a I L Perets monologue in honour of Chanukah and some lovely Chanukah Yiddish songs.
12 Dec 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 12th December, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and as we approach the happy 8 day Chanukah festival of Lights, we hear an interesting historical perspective on the festival, as well an entertaining Chanukah Story by Sholem Aleichem and some lovely Chanukah Yiddish songs.
5 Dec 2025, 11am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 5th December, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we recall the “grandfather” of modern Yiddish literature, Mendele Moykher Sforim e”h, on the occasion of his yortsayt-death anniversary, which falls on this Sunday the 8th December and hear a couple of his fine short stories.
28 Nov 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show. 28th November, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, we remember the United Nations' plan to partition Mandatory Palestine known as Resolution 181, adopted on the 29th November, 1947 and in honour of his upcoming yortsayt-death anniversary we remember David Ben-Gurion e”h, and hear him speak in Yiddish about these historic events.
21 Nov 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 21st November, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember the American Yiddish polemicist, writer, and poet Jacob Glatstein e”h and hear some of his poems, which still resonate in this day and age.
14 Nov 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 14th November, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of YIVO the Institute for Yiddish Studies in Vilnius, now in New York and we hear two of the excellent speakers from the 100th anniversary celebration Prof David Roskies and Prof David Fishman.
7 Nov 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 7th November, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, we recall the tragic assassination of the Israeli Premier Minister Itzhak Rabin, e”h, we remember the Yiddish writer, playwright, ethnographer and political activist Sh Ansky and we commemorate the horrific Kristallnacht Nazi pogrom against Jews in Germany and Austria on the 9th and 10th of November 1938.
3 Nov 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 31st October, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember two Yiddish poets and writers, whose yortzaytn – death anniversaries fell this week Moishe Kulbak e”h, from Vilnius and Jacob Rosenberg e”h, from Melbourne.
24 Oct 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 24th October, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we’ll hear about two interesting museums dedicated to the memory of the once vibrant Polish Jewish communities of Lublin and Bialystok.
17 Oct 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 17th October, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we recall the Yiddish writer Yehudah Elberg e”h and hear two of his engaging short stories.
10 Oct 2025, 9am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 10th October, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, as we’re in the midst of the festival of Succot and the coming celebrations of Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret and Simchas Torah, we reflect this festive time of the Jewish year also in today’s program.
3 Oct 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 3rd October, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we usher in the happy Succot, Sikkes or Tabernacles festival.
26 Sep 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 26th September, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, and as we are in the midst of the Yomim Neroyim – Days of Awe before Yom Kippur, we mark these days with stories, songs and prayers befitting this time of the year.
19 Sep 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 19th September, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we usher in Rosh Hashona, the Jewish New Year, with stories and songs by some of our great Yiddish creators. Shana Tova !
12 Sep 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 12th September, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we remember the Yiddish poet, writer and satirist A Lutzki e”h and hear a little about him and some of his wonderful creations read by Hertz Grosbard.
5 Sep 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 5th September, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, we mark the anniversary of the pivotal 1908 Czernowic Conference on Yiddish and we celebrate the upcoming Fathers Day in Australia, with some biting satirical Yiddish comedy.
29 Aug 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 29th August, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we commemorate the tragic anniversaries of the liquidation of the ghettos of two of the greatest pre WWII Yiddish centres Bialystok and Lodz.
22 Aug 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 22nd August, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia, we commemorate the yortsayt – death anniversary of the Soviet Yiddish poets and writers murdered by the Stalin regime in August 1952 and we remember the singer of their poetic creations Emil Gorovets in honour of his yortsayt – death anniversary.
3 Jul 2025, 4pm Kadimah Yiddish Show, 4th July, 2025 Alex Dafner recalls the National Yiddish and Hebrew Poet Chaim Nachman Bialik e”h on his yortsayt – death anniversary and commemorates the horrific Kielce pogrom of the 4th July, 1946.
27 Jun 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 27th June, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we mark the yortsayt – death anniversaries of two wonderful Yiddish poets, Chaim Grade e”h and Anna Margolin e”h and we hear a little about them and some of their creations later in today’s program.
20 Jun 2025, 10am Kadimah Yiddish Show, 20th June, 2025 Alex Dafner presents current events reports from Australia and we mark the yortsayt – death anniversary of the Yiddish proletarian poet Morris Rosenfeld and hear a poignant short story written by Avrom Reyzen.
