January 27, 2008 / 20 Shevat 5768

Marking the 40th anniversary of the Soviet Jewish Struggle for Freedom, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Jewish Agency for Israel held a moving tribute to the Soviet Jews who once were exiled, jailed and tortured for seeking to exercise their right to live freely in their homeland. The ceremony was held in the presence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yaakov Edri, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel Zeev Bielski and Chairman of the Public Committee for the 40th Anniversary and former "Prisoner of Zion" Natan Sharansky.

"We were a small group of people who willingly endangered our lives for years in the name of freedom," said Sharansky.  "We lost everything. Where did we get the energy to go on? From the Jewish People. From Israel. That is the strength of the Jewish People, our unity," said Sharansky with passion. "And we must not forget this today."

Twenty-two years after the struggle began, the Iron Curtain fell and Soviet Jews were finally free to immigrate to Israel. In a massive undertaking, the Jewish Agency mobilized immediately, sending hundreds of emissaries to all corners of the former Soviet Union (FSU) to help bring the Jews home. In 1990 and 1991 alone, the Jewish Agency, with the unwavering support of its partners the United Jewish Communities and the Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod-UIA and Jews all over the world, airlifted 350,000 Soviet Jews to Israel.

"Aliyah from the former Soviet Union changed the State of Israel in so many ways," Zeev Bielski, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, told the gathering. "And it began with your struggle."

"The Soviet police and the KGB could not match the will of the heroic Refuseniks," said Prime Minister Olmert. "Your will to live freely as Jews was stronger than the Russian empire."

Olmert then recalled one of the most moving moments in his political career, the day Natan Sharansky was sworn in as a minister in the Israeli government.

Also attending the ceremony were young people taking part in the Jewish Agency's Selah program, who listened to the stories of the heroes whose enduring struggle paved the way for them to come to Israel.

Selah, a Hebrew acronym for "students before their parents" is a 12-14 month academic preparatory course that allows recent high school graduates from the FSU to continue on to higher education in Israel. The program includes intensive Hebrew-language studies (ulpan), cultural programs and activities, and a special course of study to prepare the participants for post-secondary education.

All of Selah's young participants arrive in Israel as tourists. Within three months, their status is changed to that of new immigrants. In this way, they become eligible for the government's absorption package of financial assistance. During their first three months in Israel, Selah students live in Jewish Agency absorption centers or student villages, receiving free room and board and a living stipend. During the second stage, they receive half-board and pay a subsidized rental fee, similar to other absorption center residents. Tens of thousands of young people from the FSU have made aliyah through Selah.

Oleg Kansler (middle) and Selah friends celebrate their Israeli citizenship.

Toward the end of the evening, four of the Selah students were presented with their official Israeli identity cards by Olmert, Bielski, Sharansky and Edri. Oleg Kansler from Minsk was one of them. In Israel for three months, Kansler was visibly moved as he stood on stage and received proof of his citizenship. "We are so happy to be here," said Kansler, surrounded by his Selah friends. "And we are all proud to be citizens of Israel. We do not take this right for granted."

Yuri Edelstein, another well-known former "Prisoner of Zion" said, "It is important not to forget these heroes, and for the younger generation to know what happened. It is part of our history… our modern day exodus."