Note from the
Soviet Jews Exodus website editorial board:
We already published at our site a story about the
exceptional activity of members of Cleveland’s Jewish community in helping
Soviet Jewry, written by Boris and Ester Kolker (in Russian). Click
here.
In 1963, this group established the very first grass
roots Soviet Jewry organization in America, the Cleveland Council on Soviet
Anti-Semitism (CCSA). Over the next several years, councils for Soviet Jews were
organized in other cities in North America. In 1970 they joined to help
spearhead a national movement that played an essential role in the exodus of
Soviet Jewry and also — together with refuseniks, prisoners of Zion and Soviet
Jewish aliyah activists — contributed to the demise of the Soviet regime.
For further information we recommend a more
comprehensive and detailed account by a member of the CCSA and its long time
leader, Louis Rosenblum. The account was published as Cleveland's Role in the Soviet Jewry Movement. We
invite you to click on that link – it is good reading for those interested in a
closer look at a remarkable period of Jewish history.
Updatings:
Dear friends,
Please note that since May 2008, when an abbreviated version of Dr. Rosenblum's memoir was posted on the internet, three new sections have been added:
• October 2008 - Students and Housewives and Freedom Caravan
• February 2010 - The Government of Israel - The Elephant in the Room.
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