Sitka

Sitka is a fictional Jewish settlement in Alaska. It was formed in the late 1940s after the Jews were driven out of Jerusalem in 1948 by Arab Muslims. Sitka is the place of residence for most of the novel’s characters, including Meyer Landsman, Berko Shemets, Bina Gelbfish, and Heskel Shpilman. The novel is set in 2007, and Sitka is scheduled to become unincorporated in 2008, as decreed by the United States government, which had originally established the settlement. This scheduled event is referred to as Reversion. Sitka is depicted as generally urban, mimicking the atmosphere of detective novels on which The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is based.

The Hotel Zamenhof

The Hotel Zamenhof is a cheap, low-quality hotel in Sitka. It is quite old and was constructed no long after the original settlement of Sitka. At the time of the novel, it is the residence of Meyer Landsman. The narrative...