Yavits Ilana (10.06.1945, Riga) – German language teacher, youngest daughter of Dr. Z. Cherfas. In 1961 she completed Riga's 17th secondary school. In 1967 she completed the philology faculty of the Latvian State University with the specialty of German language and literature. In 1967–1972 she taught German language and methods of teaching German at LGU.

In 1973 she repatriated with her husband's family to Israel. From 1974 to the present she works at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Beer-Sheva), teaching German and running a course devoted to the fate of artists during the Third Reich.

From 1994 she has actively participated in the work of the international association “Women in Exile.” She has repeatedly given papers at the association's annual conferences on the traditions of Latvian Jewry. She participated in the conference “Jews in a Changing World” (Riga, September 2006) with the paper “From the Past into the Future: Memories of a Lost World and the Revival of Jewish National Consciousness.”

Publications: “Meine Mutter erzählt — über die Eigenart von Erinnerungen an eine verlorene Welt.” In: Familiengeschichte(n). Erfahrungen und Verarbeitung von Exil und Verfolgung im Leben der Töchter. Wuppertal: Arco Verlag, 2006. P. 75–85. Interview: “Ich war ein glückliches Mädchen…” Töchter des Exils – Lebensbahnen an rettenden Ufern. “Neues Deutschland.” Berlin, 17.12.2005, and others. BV