The Jewish National Movement in the USSR, Marking the 50th Anniversary of “Operation Wedding”

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The Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research CenterThe Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot and The Jewish Agency for Israel are pleased to invite you to the online international symposium:

The Jewish National Movement in the USSR, Marking the 50th Anniversary of “Operation Wedding”

The event will take place on Monday-Wednesday, 21-23 December, 2020 (Israel Time), between 19:00 – 21:00 and will be broadcast Live on Zoom.

For your attention – the conference will be held in English.

Please register in advance >

21 December, 2020

Opening

Simha Goldin, Director of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center, Tel Aviv University

Isaac Herzog, Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel & Member of the Board, Beit Hatfutsot

Soviet Authorities, Jews, and the Jewish National Movement in the USSR before and after World War II

Moderator: Velvl Chernin (EAJC) 

Topics for Discussion:

  • "Classical” Russian Zionism in the USSR in 1920s-1940s: Destiny and Heritage
  • "The Jews of Silence” in 1948-1967: The USSR Jewish Experience in the Age of State and Public Antisemitism
  • Zionist Activity in the Soviet Union, 1948 - 1967
  • Identity, Ideology and Community Structures in the Zionist Movement of the Late USSR

Presenters: Boris Morozov (TAU); Gennady Kostyrchenko (RAS); Yaacov Ro’i (TAU); Ze’ev Khanin (MoAI & BIU)

Visual presentation: Haim Ghiuzeli (Beit Hatfutsot)

Personal items of the prisoner of Zion Zvi Preigerzon, which are part the Museum's new permanent display

22 December, 2020

Despite Common Sense: Testimonies on the Jewish Underground in Leningrad and Riga and “Operation Wedding” 

Moderator: Izabella Tabarovsky (Wilson Center)

Participants: Eduard Kuznetsov; Josef Mendelevich; Sylva Zalmanson; Israel Zalmanson; Elie Valk; Anatoly Goldfeld; Boris Penson; Arie Hanoch

Visual presentation: Haim Ghiuzeli (Beit Hatfutsot)

Collection of photographs by Joseph Schneider, a prisoner of Zion

23 December, 2020

Soviet Jewry, the USSR Zionist Movement, and “Operation Wedding”: Responses from Israel and the West

Moderator: Semion Goldin (HUJI)

Topics for Discussion:

  • Israel and Soviet Jewry in 1948-1953 Zeh hakatan gadol yihyeh
  • The Emergence and Evolution of a Jewish Movement in the Late USSR
  • The State of Israel Struggle for Soviet Jewry 1952-1970

Presenters: Yacov Livne (MFA); Zvi Gitelman (UM); Nati Cantorovich (NATIV)

Visual presentation: Haim Ghiuzeli (Beit Hatfutsot)

Interview with Constance Smukler, one of the pillars of the Jewish-American struggle for the release of prisoners of Zion

Official invitation (PDF) >

Registration >