In the early 20th century, the Duchovnys made their way to Jaffa, where they opened an inn. Unfortunately, the Duchovnys, along with 6000 fellow Jews, were violently expelled from the state one night in December of 1914 by the local Ottoman government.
In an exclusive clip from “Finding Your Roots,” Duchovny gets emotional as he reads about the fate that befell his great-grandparents and his grandfather.
The Duchovnys’ expulsion was part of mass deportations of Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv that started when the Turks sided with the Central Powers during WWI.
Tens of thousands of Jews who lived in Jaffa and Tel Aviv were forcibly deported in the years of the war; quite a few didn’t survive the expulsions.
The Duchovnys, however, did finally make in to New York, where David’s grandfather, Moshe, became a celebrated Yiddish writer who wrote for a local Orthodox Zionist-leaning Yiddish paper. Duchovny’s father, Amram, worked as a publicist for the American Jewish Committee and later for Brandeis. In his 70s, he began publishing novels.
Duchovny himself has continued this legacy of Jewish penmanship.
The Duchovnys, however, did finally make in to New York, where David’s grandfather, Moshe, became a celebrated Yiddish writer who wrote for a local Orthodox Zionist-leaning Yiddish paper. Duchovny’s father, Amram, worked as a publicist for the American Jewish Committee and later for Brandeis. In his 70s, he began publishing novels.
Duchovny himself has continued this legacy of Jewish penmanship.
Text taken from Kveller