Refuseniks remembered in LA
“The Soviet Jewish movement was one of the great causes of modern Jewish history and one of the greatest successes,” said Ed Robin. 'It has radically changed Jewish life everywhere'
A Californian museum has opened a new centre and exhibition dedicated to the story of Soviet Jews who fought for decades for the right to emigrate to Israel.
Based at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles, it was part funded by Ed Robin, an American philanthropist who helped organise a 250,000-man march on Washington to raise awareness of the Soviet refuseniks, after his 1982 visit.
Another to meet Soviet Jews was photographer Bill Aron, whose shots from his travels to Leningrad, Moscow and Minsk from 1981 are now on display.
“The Soviet Jewish movement was one of the great causes of modern Jewish history and one of the greatest successes,” said Robin. “It has radically changed Jewish life everywhere.”
Curator Joes Segal said: “By presenting these more personal perspectives, we can see that history is not as straightforward or simple as people tend to think.”
During the 1950s and 1960s, up to two million Jews lived in the USSR, compared to 240,000 in Russia today. Most emigrated to Israel but many went to the US, including to LA.
The centre and exhibit are part of a wider effort to shine a spotlight on the history of Russian-speaking Jews, said Marina Yudborovsky, CEO of Genesis Philanthropy Group, which supported the initiative. “It’s been a good 30-50 years – and it is exactly that timeline when things stop being recent news and become history,” she warned.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
