The Freedom Struggle of Soviet Jewry
“We are not silent today.” – Elie Wiesel, at the 1987 Freedom Sunday Rally
Celebrate a landmark victory of Jewish experience
In 2007, hundreds of thousands of Jews across the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Soviet Jewry movement and the 20th anniversary of the historic 1987 Freedom Sunday Rally in Washington DC.
It was over twenty years ago that 250,000 people gathered on America’s National Mall to open the floodgates for Soviet Jewry, marching, singing and shouting: “Let my people go!” One of the largest marches on Washington in American history, the rally signaled a critical turning point in the 40-year struggle that led to the liberation of 1.5 million Soviet Jews.
The anniversary also marks the four decades since brave Russian Jewish activists – from Alexander Lerner, Vladimir Slepak and Ida Nudel, to Natan Sharansky and Yuli Edelshtein -- began fighting for their freedom from the oppressive and undemocratic Soviet monolith. Their plight was bolstered by American and Israeli human rights campaigns – global efforts that comprised an unprecedented display of Jewish solidarity among people of all ages and from all over the world.
The “Free Soviet Jewry” movement is a landmark victory of Jewish experience and a catalyst for the modern human rights movement. We invite you to celebrate this watershed moment and our history.
NCSJ and a coalition of international organizations from the United States, Israel and the former Soviet Union (FSU) took part in commemorative events, which organized around the globe. Major activities in the United States took place during Chanukah to mark the original date of Freedom Sunday.