The Jewish Story Season 5
Episode 2: Let My People Go – the Ongoing Fight for Soviet Jewry
talks about Russian Jewish refuseniks, why they were denied exit visas to immigrate to Israel, and how the Communist regime eventually let them go. Learn about US President Richard Nixon’s détente with the Soviets, championed by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and opposed by Henry “Scoop” Jackson, co-author of the Jackson-Vanik amendment of 1974, and his assistant Richard Perle.
Others who discussed the issue of Russian Jews include Shaul Avigur, founder of Israel’s Liaison Bureau (Lishkat Hakesher), also known as Nativ, Jacob Birnbaum of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, Moshe Decter of Jewish Minorities Research, and Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov and his influence on the most well-known refusenik, Natan Sharansky.
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Mike teaches Hasidut, Rav Kook, Halakhah at Pardes. He has learned Torah in a number of Jerusalem area institutions, including Yeshivat HaMivtar, the Mir Yeshiva and Sulam Yaakov. He received smicha (rabbinic ordination) from Sulam Yaakov in conjunction with completing the Israeli Rabbinate’s laws of kashrut certification. You can find books written by Mike by clicking here Rav Mike is creating a wondering Jewish history podcast. To learn more on how you can support his podcast please visit Michael Feuer on Patreon. Mike also has been active in Jewish education, formal and informal, for many years. To learn more about his experiences visit the Pardes website to read more.
