Israel Funds Center on Soviet Jewish Emigration

About 50 former Prisoners of Zion and aliyah activists met at the Heritage Ministry in Jerusalem on October 5 to discuss a proposed center documenting Soviet Jews’ struggle to preserve their identity and immigrate to Israel. The year of the gathering wasn’t specified. In May 2024, the government approved the center and allocated NIS 27 million for it.

The proposed center

Heritage Ministry Director-General Itay Grank presented the ministry’s vision: a center that would preserve personal testimonies and introduce younger generations to the history of Soviet Jewry and its contribution to Israeli society. Participants discussed how to develop the center, which parts of the struggle it should document, and how to make its history accessible to the public.

First-person accounts took center stage. The proposed center would present the experiences of former prisoners, refuseniks and aliyah activists alongside the broader history of Jewish life under Soviet rule. Participants considered how to record those experiences and present them to the public.

Former Prisoners of Zion Yosef Mendelevich, Simon Shnirman and Alex Silnitsky spoke at the gathering. They recounted their experiences and involvement in the movement for the right to make aliyah, or immigrate to Israel. The article doesn’t provide further details about their individual accounts.

Restrictions and emigration

For decades, Soviet authorities restricted Jewish religious and cultural life and prevented many Jews from leaving the country. Authorities denied emigration permits to some Jews, who became known as refuseniks. Activists who challenged the restrictions faced harassment and imprisonment as they continued organizing Jewish activities and campaigning for emigration rights.

The proposed center aims to document those experiences: the struggle to preserve Jewish identity and the campaign to leave the Soviet Union for Israel. Its planned scope also covers Jewish life under Soviet rule and Soviet Jewry’s contribution to Israeli society, as outlined in the ministry’s vision presented by Grank.

The gathering brought together people identified as former Prisoners of Zion and aliyah activists. They discussed both the historical material the center should include and how to make that history accessible. Participants highlighted personal testimony as a central part of the project.

Government approval and funding

In May 2024, the government approved establishing the Soviet Jewry heritage center and allocated NIS 27 million. The decision provided for an educational and cultural center to preserve Jewish heritage, Zionist activity and the history of the struggle to immigrate to Israel.

Participants considered plans for the project at the October 5 gathering, but the article doesn’t specify the meeting’s year, a location for the proposed center or a construction timetable. It also doesn’t report a final decision on which specific testimonies or parts of the struggle the center will include. Participants discussed those questions as they considered the center’s development.