Ever since I started writing about America’s movement to save Soviet Jews, I’ve periodically heard from people who took part in the campaign and went to protests either as kids or teenagers. I don’t think that Soviet Jews like me, who eventually came to the U.S. because of this movement, really understood how important it was for Jewish identity back then. It was a formative experience, helping bring them together and crystalizing their politics. I mean, Jews here really believed the hype. They really thought that the Soviet Union might genocide us, unless they did something. So it gave them a real real-or-death mission.
Wondering if any of you were involved with the movement? Did you or your family go to the protests? Did you get together with people in your synagogue to write letters to Congress? Maybe you were a bit more radical and chucked some bombs into Aeroflot’s offices? What did you think about Soviet Jews? What effect did it have on you?
—Yasha
PS: Maybe this CNN report on the 1987 Freedom Sunday, which drew several hundred thousand Jews from all over America to Washington DC in time for Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit, will help shake out a few memories.
Mid-Boomer here. For better/worse, knew no one even tangentially involved with this movement. Think it was exclusively a concern of ppl heavily involved with organized Jewish life, whether as synagogue member or youth group participant.
My family was not affiliated with anything Jewish, formally at least. Same for everyone I then knew. Saw signs at synagogues, but never gave it a second thought at the time. Among many other things, I had Grateful Dead shows to attend!!!
Also, mid-Boomer. Not Jewish. Growing up nearby and living in San Francisco, I certainly remember the arrival of many Russian (and maybe Ukrainian?) Jews. My understanding of the situation would have been mostly word of mouth, my liberal friends, and television news. I think my modestly informed understanding was that the Soviet Union had an anti-semitic streak but perhaps not more than any other place. I guess this included the idea that the US was a better place for Jews than the Soviet Union. And that these folks were allowed to come out of the generosity of the "Good Ole USA".
Even in the 1980's, I think I naively still saw anti-semitism through the lens of WW2 and the Holocaust more than the Soviet Union, or any place in the present time. Like many of my generation, I fought the Red Menace fears of my parents, was against the Vietnam War, and was not inclined to demonize Soviet Russia, etc.
My contact with the SF community itself was entirely limited to the fantastic bakeries/delis in the Outer Richmond.
I appreciate this very interesting, and illuminating, discussion...
Israeli here, the last of the boomers. I remember the campaign from the Israeli side. There were lots of signs of “let my people go”, and I must admit that we believed in it. The feeling was that we rescued Russian Jews from the Soviets. There were few freedom fighters that were jailed for years, like Natan Sharanski who’s wife, Avital, used to go back and forth to the US to put pressure on the Soviets to release him. He eventually was released and made aliya and became a member of the Israeli parliament for a while.
Just this morning, I posted you last column to FB with a note about how pivotal the 1987 March for Soviet Jewry was for me and how many times I've met other Jews who had a similar experience... https://www.facebook.com/evan.serpick/posts/10105815658899742
It wasn't so much formative about my worldview, but it introduced me to the world of mass mobilization, protest, chants, advocacy - I loved all that. It was the first time I encountered the idea you could go out in the street and actually make change, which was pretty formative for me and, I gather, some of the other folks I know who wound up being lefty Jews. That's ironic, given the nationalist, right-wing thinking behind it...
Or, perhaps more likely, related to time of immigration to the US. My family came from Russia in the 19th century. “The old country” was not even in the memory of my grandparents.
A reader wrote by email: "I did something by myself. I read Night by Weisel and then wrote a letter to a Russian Jew-suggested by someone I forget). And the person wrote back that they had read Night also-so that was cool. But, I never joined the mass rallies for Soviet Jews."
+Bloodlands author Timothy Snyder wrote that the Nazi's killed more Jews in ONE DAY then the Tsar supposed killed in FIVE CENTURIERS of Tsardom. Jew must thank Russia for defeating the Nazi's. If the Nazi's won, there woulfd be no Jews in Europe nor would there be an Israel.
Mid-Boomer here. For better/worse, knew no one even tangentially involved with this movement. Think it was exclusively a concern of ppl heavily involved with organized Jewish life, whether as synagogue member or youth group participant.
My family was not affiliated with anything Jewish, formally at least. Same for everyone I then knew. Saw signs at synagogues, but never gave it a second thought at the time. Among many other things, I had Grateful Dead shows to attend!!!
Also, mid-Boomer. Not Jewish. Growing up nearby and living in San Francisco, I certainly remember the arrival of many Russian (and maybe Ukrainian?) Jews. My understanding of the situation would have been mostly word of mouth, my liberal friends, and television news. I think my modestly informed understanding was that the Soviet Union had an anti-semitic streak but perhaps not more than any other place. I guess this included the idea that the US was a better place for Jews than the Soviet Union. And that these folks were allowed to come out of the generosity of the "Good Ole USA".
Even in the 1980's, I think I naively still saw anti-semitism through the lens of WW2 and the Holocaust more than the Soviet Union, or any place in the present time. Like many of my generation, I fought the Red Menace fears of my parents, was against the Vietnam War, and was not inclined to demonize Soviet Russia, etc.
My contact with the SF community itself was entirely limited to the fantastic bakeries/delis in the Outer Richmond.
I appreciate this very interesting, and illuminating, discussion...
Israeli here, the last of the boomers. I remember the campaign from the Israeli side. There were lots of signs of “let my people go”, and I must admit that we believed in it. The feeling was that we rescued Russian Jews from the Soviets. There were few freedom fighters that were jailed for years, like Natan Sharanski who’s wife, Avital, used to go back and forth to the US to put pressure on the Soviets to release him. He eventually was released and made aliya and became a member of the Israeli parliament for a while.
please keep on this!
i heard from a friend years ago that there was a group of "79ers" of bay area russian jews who came over in the 78/79/80 waves (she was of it).
we went to chicago in 1980 at age 7 but i was pretty adamant about getting out of the russki world and wasn't every really part of the community.
anyway, this is incredibly fascinating and i'm glad to be a subscriber
Just this morning, I posted you last column to FB with a note about how pivotal the 1987 March for Soviet Jewry was for me and how many times I've met other Jews who had a similar experience... https://www.facebook.com/evan.serpick/posts/10105815658899742
amazing!
do you remember how it affected you? what did you think about it all?
It wasn't so much formative about my worldview, but it introduced me to the world of mass mobilization, protest, chants, advocacy - I loved all that. It was the first time I encountered the idea you could go out in the street and actually make change, which was pretty formative for me and, I gather, some of the other folks I know who wound up being lefty Jews. That's ironic, given the nationalist, right-wing thinking behind it...
Are you Gen X?? Vietnam war was a much bigger concern for boomers. We were all adults by the late 1980s.
Yes, Gen X. I was 12 when I sent to that march in 1987.
Or, perhaps more likely, related to time of immigration to the US. My family came from Russia in the 19th century. “The old country” was not even in the memory of my grandparents.
A reader wrote by email: "I did something by myself. I read Night by Weisel and then wrote a letter to a Russian Jew-suggested by someone I forget). And the person wrote back that they had read Night also-so that was cool. But, I never joined the mass rallies for Soviet Jews."
+Bloodlands author Timothy Snyder wrote that the Nazi's killed more Jews in ONE DAY then the Tsar supposed killed in FIVE CENTURIERS of Tsardom. Jew must thank Russia for defeating the Nazi's. If the Nazi's won, there woulfd be no Jews in Europe nor would there be an Israel.