Soviet Jewry

Repatriation (Aliyah): From Soviet Underground to a Conflict-Free Double Loyalty

On Aliyah Day, Israel remembers the men and women who paved the way for national revival

|ByDR. HAIM BEN YAAKOV
Dr Haim Ben Yaakov
NEW YORK’S Jewish community marches beneath the banner ‘We shall not be silent’ during the Solidarity Sunday for Soviet Jewry demonstration in protest at the Soviet Union’s treatment of Jewish people, in New York City, in 1975.

Yom Kippur War: How the Book of Isaiah spurred world Jewry to back Israel, refusniks in 1973

The haftarah for Yom Kippur begins with these action-filled words of Isaiah. We must act – we must cut the road through – it is up to us to clear the way for ami – My people – God’s people.

|ByDAVID GEFFEN
Ilan Sinelnikov

25 ViZionaries: Ilan Sinelnikov - No. 25

Founded a grassroots movement to provide a confident pro-Israel voice on college campuses  

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Sasha Vasilyuk’s novel, "Your Presence Is Mandatory," was inspired by the story of her grand­fa­ther, right, a Sovi­et World War II sol­dier who nev­er talked about the war.

Her Jewish grandfather’s shame inspired a prize-winning novel

Sasha Vasilyuk's debut novel, “Your Presence Is Mandatory,” won the $100,000 prize for a story inspired by her father’s father, a Jewish soldier in the Red Army.

|ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA

From Tehran to Moscow: How antisemitic regimes weaponize anti-Zionist Jews - opinion

Their goal is to sever identity from peoplehood and peoplehood from sovereignty. Iranian Jews today are walking a tightrope similar to the one Soviet refuseniks walked decades ago.

JULY 6, 2025By DAPHNE KLAJMAN
IRANIAN JEWS prepare for prayer at the Abrishami Synagogue in Tehran, 2015.

Jewish religious leaders' unsettling words disregard Israel's foundational narratives - opinion

We must be exceptionally delicate in our speech, careful to uphold moral integrity, and even more so, to avoid clouding or distorting our historical narratives.

JUNE 19, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN
Jewish yeshiva students study at the Atert Shlomo Yeshiva, in Rishon Lezion, June 11, 2025

Life lessons: My Passover in Soviet unfreedom - opinion

The history of Soviet Jewish refuseniks demonstrates Jewish resilience throughout the generations.

APRIL 9, 2025ByGIL TROY
Hazorfim - Passover plate, the Linia collection, NIS 574

Khrushchev and the Jews: The attitude of Stalin's successor to Soviet Jewry

Between Stalin’s shadow and the Cold War, the Soviet leader both perpetuated and decried Soviet antisemitism.

FEBRUARY 21, 2025ByALEX WINSTON
NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV during a meeting with Kiev residents, after the liberation of the city from the Nazi occupation, Nov. 30, 1943.

From Sinai to daily life: How small actions create lasting holiness - opinion

BEYOND THE HEADLINES: How parashat Mishpatim and mothers of hostages highlight the power of small actions in creating lasting impact

FEBRUARY 17, 2025BySIVAN RAHAV MEIR
Lena Troufanov (R) and Rabbanit Bazak (L)

What happens in Gaza, Israel the day after? Lessons from Soviet Jewry - opinion

“The day after” Gazans can take a page from the once impoverished Jewish survivors.

FEBRUARY 15, 2025ByHAROLD GOLDMEIER
Protests on Aza Street in Jerusalem call for the immediate release of hostages.

Grapevine: Happy birthday, prisoner of Zion!

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JANUARY 18, 2025ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Natan Sharansky

Israelis with Soviet roots unite in solidarity in Tel Aviv amid the war

Limmud FSU aims to help Jews with roots from the former Soviet republics preserve their religious identity and unique traditions.

JANUARY 15, 2025ByLARRY LUXNER/JTA
Limmud FSU's Israel team of volunteers were key to the success of the annual Limmud FSU Israel event, Dec. 29, 2024.

The Moshe Castel Museum showcases paintings by Yosef Ostrovsky

In addition to being a consummate portraitist, Yosef Ostrovsky was also an extremely rare example of a Soviet citizen who became a quintessentially Jewish painter.

JANUARY 4, 2025ByALEK D. EPSTEIN
At the opening of the Yosef Ostrovsky exhibition at the Castel Museum on December 18. From left: Hagai Sasson, the museum’s CEO; Meir Ostrovsky, son of the artist; and Yehiel Vaknin, deputy mayor of Ma’aleh Adumim.

Grapevine December 25, 2024: The key priority

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

DECEMBER 25, 2024ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
FLAVIO CAIAFA (left) and Aharon Palmon, vice president for research and development at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

How Israel risks distancing the Russian Jewish community - opinion

After years of harmful rhetoric, Israel risks losing some major supporters in Russian Jewish businessmen.

OCTOBER 10, 2024BySHLOMO NEEMAN
Olim attend an event marking 25 years of the great aliyah from the former Soviet Union, in Jerusalem in 2015. Do we no longer have the resolve to save Jews?