Last Saturday, December 15th, Russian leaders of the political opposition took part in an unsanctioned demonstration. This protest, which took place in Lubyanka Square near a monument to victims of Soviet political repression, was an act of defiance against a law signed by President Putin in June that fines participants $9,000 and organizations $18,000 for [...]
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UCSJ’s Work in Ukraine: Preserving Jewish Culture
Foreword to the presentation of UCSJ’s work to preserve Jewish Heritage in Ukraine. The vibrant Jewish culture and the spiritual life of the Ukrainian Jewish community in Lviv, Ukraine, much like elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, had been ruthlessly suppressed by the Nazi and Communist totalitarian dictatorships for many years. At present, there are only [...]
An Oral History of the Rally to Save Soviet Jewry
Tablet Magazine How We Freed Soviet Jewry Twenty-five years ago today, a rally of 250,000 people changed the fate of Jews worldwide. An oral history. By Allison Hoffman Originally published December 6, 2012. (American Jewish Historical Society) Twenty-five years ago today, an estimated quarter of a million Americans, most of them Jews, flooded the Mall [...]
“The Twenty-Seventh Man”– The Crime of Writing While Jewish
By Diana Muir Appelbaum On the night of August 12, 1952, a group of Yiddish writers was executed on Joseph Stalin’s orders for the crime of writing while Jewish. The executions, remembered as the Night of the Murdered Poets, were the tragic culmination of the grand romance between Jewish intellectuals and Marxism. Author Nathan Englander now [...]
Hungarian Jews Request for Russia to Return Looted Items
Jewish Hungarians, backed by the government in Budapest, have requested for Russia to return items that were looted during WWII by the Nazis and the Red Army. While they are asking for a return of all the articles — including vestments, crowns and artwork — they are most interested in receiving the Torah scrolls that [...]
The Diverse Culture of Chernivtsi, Ukraine and its ‘Cinegogue’
In Maria Danilova’s article “Journey Through Time in Ukraine’s Little Paris,” she describes the rich history that is still alive in the city of Chernivtsi, Ukraine today. Before WWII, this city had several dozen synagogues, and about one third of its population was Jewish. Today, Jewish residents make up only about 2 percent of the [...]
Human Rights Groups in Russia Firmly Against New ‘Foreign Agent’ Law
Human rights groups in Russia are standing firmly against the new ‘Foreign Agent’ law as it goes into effect. This law requires nonprofit groups that receive any funding from outside Russia to label themselves as “foreign agents.” In addition, it expands the legal definition of treason to include “providing financial, technical, advisory or other assistance [...]
Elie Wiesel and Natan Sharansky Discuss 1987 March on Washington for Soviet Jewry
At the this year’s General Assembly (GA) of the Jewish Federations of North America, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel and Natan Sharansky, former Soviet Refusenik, discussed the historical significance of the Sunday, December 6, 1987 march on Washington for Soviet Jewry. This 1987 march was the largest American Jewish demonstration in history, with over [...]
Visitors React to New Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow
The recently opened Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow has left many Russian Jewish visitors in awe at its touching detail, depth and honesty regarding the experience of Russian Jews throughout the centuries. Israeli President Shimon Peres, born in Belarus, said at the opening ceremony, “My mother sang to me in Russian, and at [...]
Please Help Valery Senderov Pay For Medical Treatment
Valery Senderov, a courageous human rights activist, mathematician, teacher and writer, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at 67. Senderov has three young children, and is unable to afford the medical treatment that he needs. In the 1970′s, Senderov monitored and exposed the systematic antisemitism that pervaded the Mathematics Department of Moscow University. Talented, qualified students consistently [...]
