DER YIDDISH-VINKL October 3, 2003
By now, readers of this column must be fairly well acquainted with the laugh-evoking, thought-provoking rhymes of Stanley Siegelman. Now, in the spirit of “equal opportunity” and fair play, Siegelman comes forth with a mirthful suggestion, inspired by Der Yidish Vinkl.
Tvinkl, Tvinkl, Goyish Vinkl
Zol mir ale zayn tsufridn
Mit a vinkl nor far yidn?
“S’iz nit yoysherdik, s’iz nit ‘fair’!
Ver ken zogn ‘au contraire’?”
Mitn “vinkl,” goyim blonde,
Shrayen brudik! S’iz a shande.
Loz zey zayn nit opgeshnitn!
Loz zey zayn antisemitn!
Ale mentshn — shvartse, vayse,
Darfn vinklekh far zeyer mayse!
Yidn, goyim hobn tsvey hent,
Zey shvitsn ven der zumer brent.
Zey tsitern ven es vert gants kalt
Zey kvetshn ven zey vern alt
Zey vern krank, zey gisn blut
Zey veynen ven es geyt nisht gut!
Ven hungerik, zey darfn esn
Fun tsoris kenen zey nit fargesn
Yidn, goyim zaynen mentshn
Ale darfn zis “attention.”
Der Forverts, eynmol Socialist,
Muz prezentirn, gants umzist
A “vinkl” column far dem goy!
Oyb nit, mir klogn “Oy, oy, oy.”
Twinkle, Twinkle, Gentile Vinkl
Discrimination? Gross abuse?
A Vinkl column just for Jews?
It isn’t just, it isn’t fair!
Please do not argue “au contraire.”
Deprived of Vinkl, gentiles might
Indeed bewail, bemoan their plight.
Who cares if they’re not circumcised?
What if, by them, Jews are despised?
All God’s creatures, whate’er their hue
Should have a Vinkl — just like the Jew.
Both Jew and gentile have two hands
They both perspire in desert sands
They shiver when the weather’s cold
They groan, complain, when they are old.
They suffer sickness. And they bleed
They cry for help when they’re in need.
When famine strikes, they search for food
When troubles come, they sulk and brood.
In short, they’re all-too-human mentshen
Who hunger for some kind attention.
So, Forward, show some empathy
Dear editor, make a decree
Create a Vinkl, just for goyim
Those columns — Let them all enjoy ’em!
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Ye debuts ‘Heil Hitler’ music video that includes a sample of a Hitler speech
- 2
Opinion It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump
- 3
Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 4
Fast Forward Student suspended for ‘F— the Jews’ video defends himself on antisemitic podcast
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture How one Jewish woman fought the Nazis — and helped found a new Italian republic
-
Opinion It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump
-
Fast Forward Betar ‘almost exclusively triggered’ former student’s detention, judge says
-
Fast Forward ‘Honey, he’s had enough of you’: Trump’s Middle East moves increasingly appear to sideline Israel
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.