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Maria Ka’s cosmic Yiddish music — from punk grit to starlight
When Polish-born musician Maria Ka released her latest album Di Mashin (The Machine), she wasn’t merely reviving Yiddish song — she was remaking it in her own cosmic image.
Performing out of Gdańsk, she fuses everyday Yiddish speech with the vastness of outer space, using synths, distortion and humor to connect the language’s earthly pulse with celestial wonder.
Her approach is unorthodox by design. Rather than treating Yiddish as sacred, she sees it as a living, working language — one that can carry “punk rock” energy as easily as poetic introspection. For Ka, the language’s vitality lies in its adaptability. “Authenticity,” she says, “means Yiddish being modern, vivid and evolving.”
Beyond Klezmer
Ka’s music steers clear of nostalgia. She speaks with playful candor about her dislike of traditional klezmer, preferring what she calls the “mechanical rhythms” of shipyards, engines and machinery — sounds that mirror both the industrial history of her city and the emotional machinery of human connection.
Her songs blend the personal and the metaphysical — daily struggle intertwined with a hum of cosmic motion. “We run through our days,” she said, “while the universe simply expands.”
Ka credits much of her inspiration to pioneering women in music and theater — from Polish rock icon Kora to American legend Grace Slick and the British singer Siouxsie Sioux. Their daring artistry, she says, shaped her own stage persona: bold, visual and unapologetically original.
A Yiddish Voice in Dresden
In October, Ka opened Dresden’s Jüdische Woche (Jewish Week) festival — an experience she describes with disbelief and gratitude. The performance, which happened to fall on her birthday, felt to her like an impossible full circle. “If you told people during WWII that a Yiddish artist would perform new songs in Dresden,” she said with a laugh, “they’d have called you crazy.”
For her, bringing Yiddish music into postwar German spaces is not only symbolic but redemptive, a way to turn historical trauma into creative dialogue. “It’s meaningful,” she says, “because it opens understanding.”
Emotion, Light, and Connection
Ka writes instinctively — beginning with emotion and often discovering melody alongside it. Inspiration can come from anywhere: a word, an article, even a scientific term. One track, “Alef-Tsentauri Disko,” was sparked by an article she read about the star Alpha Centauri, which she transformed into a Yiddish pun, creating a link between the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, with the word alpha.
Her forthcoming piece, Di Kosmishe Motorn (The Cosmic Motors), continues that theme. It’s a psychedelic reflection on intimacy between the human soul and the stars. Despite her space-age vision, Ka’s goal is earthly and humane. She hopes listeners feel “light, positivity and balance” through her songs. In a fractured world, she believes music remains one of the few forces that unite. “There are more things that connect us than divide us,” she says. “Music proves it.”
The post Maria Ka’s cosmic Yiddish music — from punk grit to starlight appeared first on The Forward.
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US Strikes More Than 90 Iranian Military Targets on Kharg Island, CENTCOM Says
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
United States forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
“US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure,” CENTCOM said.
The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and multiple other military sites, the US military said in a post on X.
President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure of Iran’s Kharg Island hub, unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
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North Korea Fires Ten Ballistic Missiles Toward the Sea of Japan
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and wife Ri Sol Ju inspect an honour guard before leaving Pyongyang for a visit to China, this January 7, 2019 photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang January 8, 2019. Photo: KCNA via REUTERS.
i24 News – North Korea fired roughly ten ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the South Korean military reported, marking a new act of defiance amid Seoul and Washington’s annual joint military exercises.
The launches, originating from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, were detected around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The missiles were directed toward the East Sea—the Korean name for the Sea of Japan—though details on their range or trajectory were not immediately available. Earlier, the South Korean Ministry of Defense had already confirmed the launch of at least one unidentified projectile in the same area.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also verified the incident, noting that a suspected ballistic missile had been launched from North Korea.
The launches come amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Since Monday, the United States and South Korea have been conducting their annual joint exercises, which will continue through March 19 and involve approximately 18,000 South Korean troops alongside an unspecified number of U.S. forces.
Pyongyang has sharply criticized the drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned this week that the exercises could trigger “terrible and unimaginable consequences.”
The missile tests also coincide with fading prospects for inter-Korean dialogue. Kim Jong-un recently dismissed outreach efforts from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, labeling Seoul “the most hostile enemy.”
The show of force occurred just hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, during a visit to the United States, mentioned a potential meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un—a meeting Washington still considers possible.
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Dutch Authorities Investigate Explosion at Jewish School Claimed by Extremist Group
Police outside a Jewish school following an explosion that caused minor damages, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – An explosion struck a Jewish school on Zeelandstraat in Amsterdam-Buitenveldert during the night between Friday and Saturday, Dutch authorities confirmed. Emergency responders, including police and firefighters, acted swiftly, and officials reported that the building suffered only limited damage. No injuries have been reported.
Mayor Femke Halsema described the incident as a deliberate attack against the Jewish community in the city, emphasizing that the authorities are treating the case “very seriously.” Security camera footage showing the individual who detonated the device is under investigation.
In an unverified online video, previously little-known group identifying itself as Ashab Al Yamim later claimed responsibility for the blast. The group released online footage appearing to show the small explosion followed by a fire outside the school. Its logo was also seen in videos related to an attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam earlier this week.
Dutch investigators are coordinating with the judiciary to determine the full circumstances of the attack and whether additional suspects were involved. Authorities noted that the organization had not been previously known to security services.
The explosion comes amid rising security concerns for Jewish institutions across Europe, following heightened tensions in the Middle East. The group behind the claim has also alleged responsibility for previous incidents targeting Jewish sites in Europe, including attacks in Liège, Belgium, and Rotterdam, though these claims remain unverified.
Jewish schools, synagogues, and community centers across the continent have stepped up security measures in recent weeks amid fears of potential threats to Jewish communities.