Synopses & Reviews
Although the plight of Soviet Jewry has occupied an important place in the international struggle for human rights, the situation of Soviet Jews as the 1980s began was not favorable. In 1979 a record 51,320 Soviet Jews emigrated from the USSR, while in 1986 the total had dropped to only 914. At the same time that it made emigration more difficult, the Soviet government increased its pressure on resident Jews who attempted to study Judaism. Hebrew teachers were arrested and imprisoned, informal Jewish study groups were broken up and their leaders threatened, and the Soviet-sponsored "Anti-Zionist Committee" was highly active.
The assumption of power by Mikhail Gorbachev in March 1985, and his widely heralded policy of glasnost, or "openness," initially did little to ameliorate the condition of the Jews in the USSR. Although such famous dissidents as Anatoly Sharansky were allowed to emigrate during the first two years of the Gorbachev era, emigration of Jews remained low and other restrictions continued or grew even more repressive.
In 1987 a major change took place. Emigration rose, prisoners were released and restrictions on Jewish cultural practices were eased. In this volume, experts examine the situation has it evolved in the 1980s, evaluate the climate for Jews in the Soviet Union, describe the circumstances of those who have emigrated, and draw appropriate conclusions for the future.
Contributors. Stephen Feinstein, Robert O. Freedman, Theodore H. Friedgut, Zvi Gitelman, Marshall I. Goldman, Sidney Heitman, William Korey, Howard Spier
Synopsis
Contributors. Stephen Feinstein, Robert O. Freedman, Theodore H. Friedgut, Zvi Gitelman, Marshall I. Goldman, Sidney Heitman, William Korey, Howard Spier