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 Natan Sharansky Meets with Boards of Governors and Overseers of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to Mark 40th Anniversary of the Soviet Jewish Struggle for Freedom  Natan Sharansky addressing the Boards of Governors and Overseers of HUC-JIR in Jerusalem.During his address, Sharansky recalled how he and his refusenik colleagues reversed their parents' abandonment of Judaism for the cause of Communism and its universal mission to benefit humankind, and how Communism led to the repression and killing of millions of people during the Soviet era. He described the behind-the-scenes discussions surrounding the memorable December 1987 rally in Washington, DC, when "Jewish leaders were doubtful of attracting a large attendance and worried about disturbing the new era of good relations between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and provoking the perception that Jews were risking the American agenda for their narrow goals." He lauded President Reagan's meetings with his wife Avital and efforts on his behalf during his imprisonment and described his meeting, shortly before the rally, when Reagan dismissed concerns of disturbing Soviet-American relations and urged Sharansky to go ahead with the rally, saying "Do your part, and I will do mine." He explained that "today, in the free world's struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, Israel is the only non-Muslim nation in the region; in the free world's struggle against totalitarian regimes, Israel is the only democracy in the region, and yet is condemned more than its neighbors for human rights infractions; and in the free world's post-nationalist trend toward a world without borders and religions, whereby European nations are abandoning their identity but have growing populations who are increasingly attached to their religious and ethnic identities, Israel represents a challenge to such post-nationalistic theories." Sharansky noted that "fighting for the Jewish people and the interests of the State of Israel is fighting for the interests of the free world – for democracy, human rights, and freedom." Rabbi David Ellenson thanked Sharansky for his heroic efforts on behalf of Soviet Jewry and the State of Israel, and noted that "the Soviet Jewry movement was a decisive experience in the formation of Jewish leaders in the Soviet Union, North America, and around the world and a model of courageous activism to be emulated in our own day." Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation's oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal service professionals, and offers graduate and post-graduate programs to scholars of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise renowned library and museum collections, the American Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology excavations, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array of cultural and educational programs which illuminate Jewish history, identity, and contemporary creativity and which foster interfaith and multiethnic understanding. Visit us at www.huc.edu |
