As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel and ponder what changes have taken place since the Jubilee in 1998, we can distinguish a significant improvement in Israeli economy, more start-ups and high-tech companies, and some landmark achievements by Israeli sports competitors [see links below].
To a great extent, the common factor is of achievement is related to the mass Aliyah from the former Soviet Union during the 1990s. Most of the present young generation have little knowledge of the struggle for free immigration and Aliyah that took place in the first decades of Israel's statehood and gained strength after the Six Day War, and particularly in relation to the USSR.
The activists, however, have not forgotten that period. Jews all over the world demonstrated, engaged in lobbying, sent parcels, went to visit Refuseniks in the USSR, made regular phone calls to Refusenik families, and showed they cared. While few in number, the Refuseniks represented enormous courage and willpower. The Prisoners of Zion were even fewer in number: they survived inhuman conditions in Soviet prisons.
There is a great deal to learn from that period. In the series of activities below – whether incorporated into a dedicated Soviet Jewry Shabbaton, seminar, or weekly series – we recreate the atmosphere and significance of that unique period in modern Jewish history and take in the content of this website. We focus on: the courageous struggle by a relatively small group of Soviet Jews at the tip of the iceberg; the togetherness of Jewish communities as they stood alongside Jews in the Soviet Union; and issues related to outcomes of that struggle: the massive wave of Aliyah from the USSR and post-communist Russia.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge the formative and structured input into this Shabbaton structure
Rabbi Barry Schlesinger, Rabbi of Kehilat Moreshet Avraham and
Rabbi Prof. Reuven Hammer, member of Moreshet Avraham,
who initiated and planned the Shabbaton, around which many of these ideas were based.
Related Links