Soviet Jewry

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Irina Zavina-Tare

May 14, 2025, 8:03 AM

The Joy They Tried to Steal

Growing up Jewish in the Soviet Union, Judaism wasn’t a source of joy. It was a shadow—something to hide, something that limited you before you even knew yourself. It meant being rejected from schools, excluded from summer camps, denied...

Ilana Gimpelevich

Apr 24, 2025, 7:08 PM

‘Did Any of Your Family Perish in the Holocaust?’

Silence. What is Holocaust? There was the Great Patriotic War. Grandma and Grandpa survived, Fought even, Heroes, medals… We don’t talk about the War. Grandma cries easily Over everything. At some point, I was let in on a secret, Heavy, Shameful, Unofficial. Grandma Rachel (that’s your great grandma) Stayed behind In Zaporojie (Zaporojitza?) To help a pregnant...

Apr 15, 2025, 8:40 AM

Diaspora Jews, the Mother: Israel, the Baby

Understanding the ombilical interdependency between Diaspora Jews and Israel - by Frederic Eger - The Jewish Diaspora has played an indispensable role in the existence and development of the State of Israel since its creation until today. This relationship is...

Apr 8, 2025, 1:54 AM

Lessons from the Unusual Menu of My First Passover Seder

A few months after immigrating to the United States, in late March of 1990, my grandmother Zelda was shopping for chicken at the local Philadelphia supermarket. Standing near the register, she decided to ask in Yiddish, which was the only foreign language...

Dor Shabashewitz

Mar 27, 2025, 7:40 AM

Minority solidarity and the un-Jewishness of xenophobia

Restaurant offering dishes from Uzbekistan and the Caucasus in Haifa’s Hadar neighborhood. (Dor Shabashewitz)

Many Russian-speaking olim feel discriminated against by mainstream Israeli society. They complain, and rightfully so, that sabras often question their Jewishness. Rumor has it that many of them bribed Soviet officials to get fake certificates of Jewish ancestry as...

Dor Shabashewitz

Mar 26, 2025, 1:32 AM

The Jewish history of a Kazakh city

Soviet-era building in Atyrau’s Zhilgorodok district where many Jews settled after the WWII

Atyrau, a majority-Muslim Kazakh city in a Central Asian desert known for its history of Cossack rebellions, doesn’t sound like a very Jewish place. But in fact, it has had a Jewish presence for centuries. Notable Jews born in Atyrau...

Sharon Weiss-Greenberg

Mar 20, 2025, 10:03 PM

From Soviet’s #LetMyPeopleGo to #BringThemHome

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Shaul Kelner at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People about his newest book, A Cold War Exodus: How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews. The Mike...

Feb 25, 2025, 7:07 PM

Witnessing History: The Wende Museum Symposium ‘Voices of Defiance: Soviet Jewry’

I’ve always wondered—what if I had the chance to meet historical figures and ask them what it was like to shape history, influence their communities, and change the future of entire generations? What kind of conversation would that be?...

Feb 21, 2025, 8:00 PM

Three Years of War: Action for Post-Soviet Jewry’s Commitment to Ukraine’s Jews

Three Years of War: Action for Post-Soviet Jewry’s Commitment to Ukraine’s Most Vulnerable Jews Three years ago, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the days that followed, the world watched in horror as cities...

Feb 3, 2025, 4:50 PM

Courtroom600: Stop Radical Extremism Now!

"Meeting the Urgent Need amidst the staggering global rise in antisemitism, white supremacy, and radical extremism", this is the motto of the project founded and led by Laurie Pasler, Courtroom 600, an initiative aimed at educating the public...

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