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Lillian Goldman Reading Room
Ackman and Ziff Family Genealogy Institute
Abraham Silverstein Papers (P-947) [Audio files digitized]
The collection contains papers by Abraham Silverstein, an American Soviet Jewry movement activist who co-founded and co-chaired the Academy of the Air for Jewish Studies, an agency that prepared educational shortwave radio programs for Jews in the Soviet Union.
Alan L. Cohen Papers (P-973) [Digitized]
The collection contains photographs and video recordings taken by Kansas City, Missouri rabbi, Alan L. Cohen, during his trips to visit the Jewish Communities in the Former Soviet Union in 1989 and 1993. Included are photographs of a protest demonstration organized by Refuseniks in front of the Moscow Kremlin in 1989.
The collection contains papers of Kohn, a former emergency preparedness operations officer at NASA and a former president of Temple Beth Sholom, the Conservative Synagogue of Brevard County, Florida. It documents his participation in the Rally for Soviet Jewry outside of the John F. Kennedy Space Center of NASA on July 15, 1975 on the occasion of three astronauts on a rendezvous course with the Soviet Soyuz manned spacecraft on the Apollo-Soyuz Space Mission.
The papers of the president of Arizona Action for Soviet Jewry Ann Polunsky contain audio recordings documenting activism on behalf of Soviet Jews in the Greater Phoenix, AZ.
Arthur Bernstein Papers (P-925)
The papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus at the State University of New York at Stony Brook Dr. Arthur Bernstein contain a copy of his petition on behalf of fellow computer scientist and Soviet Jewish Prisoner of Conscience Anatoly Sharansky signed by over 230 prominent American computer scientists and mailed to the Soviet and American officials and to the United Nations in 1977.
Babette Wampold Papers (P-912)
This collection contains the papers of Wampold and the Alabama Council to Save Soviet Jews and documents their activities on behalf of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. It consists of correspondence, case files, clippings, newsletters, photographs, and trip reports.
Personal papers of the Soviet Jewry Movement activist Rabbi Barry Marks, a spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Springfield, IL and a founder of the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association. The collection reflects Rabbi Marks' and the Springfield, IL Jewish community's involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement.
Papers of Bayard Rustin, a prominent American civil rights leader, LGBT rights activist, and advocate for the Black-Jewish cooperation in the United States, that focus on his involvement in the American Soviet Jewry movement. The collection contains speeches and articles on Soviet Jewry by Rustin from the 1960s-1980s.
The collection documents the activities on behalf of Soviet Jewry of Bert Silver who served as president of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington, worked on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and chaired the commission on international affairs of the American Jewish Congress in Washington, D.C.
The Papers of the Movement activist Betty Golomb who served as a board member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, as the chair of the task force on Soviet Jewry for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and in the executive committee of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and led Women's Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jews, sponsored by the Leadership Conference of National Jewish Women's Organizations. The Papers contain documents of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Leadership Conference of National Jewish Women's Organizations' Committee on Soviet Jewry, Women's Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jewry, National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry, National Conference on Soviet Jewry and National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council.
Billie Kozolchyk Papers (P-950)
The collection contains papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Billie Kozolchyk. The documents include a collection of clippings from The Arizona Post that cover the Soviet Jewry movement in the Tucson area,1977-1991. It also contains excerpts from the diaries of Roz Kaufman, the chairperson of the Tucson-based Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry; and 3 t-shirts commemorating the annual Freedom Run for Soviet Jewry that occurred from the late 1970s-early 1990s in Tucson, AZ.
Carol and Michael Bierman Papers (P-1007)
Personal papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activists Carol and Michael Bierman include background materials on Jews in the USSR, documents, and artifacts from demonstrations, rallies and cultural events of the movement, newsletters, pamphlets, and brochures. Photographs and audio and video materials pertaining to Refuseniks, Prisoners of Conscience and Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union are also included.
The collection contains papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist, Carol Schapiro Kekst. The materials focus on the activities of the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Inc. (of which Kekst was a vice-chair) to protect the Soviet Jewish Refusenik scientists from state persecution and discrimination, and to defend their right to emigrate.
Charlotte Gerber Turner Papers (P-907)
The collection represent the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist. The collection contains reports on visiting Soviet Jews during Mrs. Turner's visits to U.S.S.R., accompanied by a large number of photos and slides taken during those trips.
Constance S. Kreshtool Papers (P-935)
The papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Constance S. Kreshtool of Wilmington, DE, who was active in the Delaware Committee on Soviet Jewry contain her correspondence with the Refuseniks in the Soviet Union and postal return receipts, a newspaper article describing her trip to the USSR in 1978, and a letter to the Jewish Family Services on behalf of a Soviet Jewish family.
The collection contains papers of a pioneer activist of the American Soviet Jewry Movement, Rabbi David Hill. A New York City Rabbi and businessman, Rabbi Hill served as the national president of National Council of Young Israel, member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and an officer of National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Starting 1971 he ran Operation Lifeline, an independently funded outreach program created by NCSJ Commission on Education and Culture to support Jewish life in the USSR and Former Soviet Union.
The Papers are comprised of materials generated while Waksberg served in various leadership roles in the American Soviet Jewry Movement in the 1980s and early 1990s: Executive Director of the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews (BACSJ); National Vice-President of Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ); member of the UCSJ Board of Directors; Director of the Center for Jewish Renewal; Director of Development and Communication of UCSJ; a founder of the Russian-American Bureau on Human Rights in Moscow.
Dolores Wilkenfeld Papers (P-927) [Digitized]
Papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Dolores Wilkenfeld of Houston, TX. consist of materials relating to the Women's Plea for Human Rights for Soviet Jewry--an interreligious event to promote Soviet Jewry movement, organized by Mrs. Wilkenfeld on December 6, 1971 in Houston, TX.
Doris H. Goldstein Papers (P-887) [Digitized]
The collection represents the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist from Atlanta, GA. It contains notes, photos and memorabilia from two trips to the USSR to meet with the Soviet Jews, a DVD recording of the program presented at an Atlanta rally on behalf of Soviet Jewry in 1987, local press coverage of Doris H. Goldstein's activism, her correspondence and memos of the Atlanta Jewish Federation regarding Jews in the Soviet Union.
Efry Spectre Papers (P-954) [Digitized]
The collection reflects Spectre's involvement in the American Soviet Jewry movement. Rabbi Spectre chaired the Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council's Committee on International Concerns and the Detroit Soviet Jewry Committee, which advocated Jewish emigration from the USSR and free expression of Jewish religious and cultural rights within the Soviet Union.
The collection documents Elaine Pittell and her husband's Robert Pittell's activities as the leaders of the Jewish Federation of South Broward's Soviet Jewry Committee from the mid-1970's to early 1990's. It contains correspondence, memos, minutes, publications, news clippings, audiocassettes, videocassette, disc negatives and nine Soviet Jewry Movement pins.
The collection contains papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Estelle Newman. The materials focus on the trip to the USSR taken by Newman, her husband, and their teenage daughter in 1983, during which they met with and delivered material aid to many Soviet Jewish Refusenik families in Moscow, Leningrad, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Siberia. It features hundreds of photographs taken during the trip including pictures of Refuseniks in their homes, scenes of Jewish life in the communities visited, and street scenes in the Soviet Republics.
The papers of Frank Brodsky reflect his work as co-chairman of the Soviet Jewry Council of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia. The collection includes two reports by Mr. Brodsky on trips to the U.S.S.R. that he and several other members of the Philadelphia Jewish community took in 1985 and 1987, in order to deliver material aid and moral support to the Soviet Jewish Refuseniks.
The collection contains materials pertaining to the Soviet Jewry movement produced by local Long Island, NY, organizations, such as the Long Island Federation of Temple Youth and the Coalition to Free Soviet Jews, as well as national organizations such as the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and Hadassah.
Grayce Perlbinder Papers (P-942) [Digitized]
Papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Grayce Perlbinder of Great Neck, NY reflect her activities as one of the leaders of the Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Harold and Judith S. Einhorn Papers (P-996)
Personal papers of Soviet Jewry Movement activists Harold and Judith S. Einhorn. Residents of Laverock, PA, the husband and wife were among the pioneers of the grassroots Soviet Jewry movement. Harold chaired the Temple Beth Tikvah Community Relations Committee and Judith chaired the Soviet Jewry Committee at Congregation Adath Jeshurun.
The collection contains papers of Harry Lerner, a children’s books publisher, who, with his wife Sharon Lerner, was an activist of the American Soviet Jewry movement in the Minneapolis area.
Irwin H. Krasna Papers (P-934)
The collection documents the trip to the Soviet Union that Dr. Irwin H. Krasna, a pediatric surgeon, and his twin brother, Dr. Alvin I. Krasna, a Professor of Biochemistry at Columbia University, took in September-October 1971, traveling under the auspices of Arye Kroll, a prominent Israeli Zionist and representative of Lishkat Hakesher (commonly known as Nativ), the Israeli liaison Bureau that carried out clandestine activities to establish contact with Jews in Eastern Europe during the Cold War to encourage them to immigrate to Israel.
Jack Forgash Papers (P-968) [Digitzed]
The collection contains papers of Jack Forgash, an activist in the American Soviet Jewry movement. Forgash held leadership positions in the Brooklyn Coalition for Soviet Jewry and the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry during the 1970s, and co-chaired the Jackson for President Committee during the presidential campaign of Senator Henry M. Jackson in 1976.
The collection documents the activism of Dr. Jack Minker, a leading authority in artificial intelligence, on behalf of foreign scientists whose human rights and scientific freedom were violated. Most of the collection focuses on Soviet Jewish Refuseniks, such as cyberneticist Alexander Lerner, mathematicians Victor Brailovsky and Anatoly Sharansky, and a dissident human rights activist, nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov.
The collection contains papers of Jerry Goodman, the founding director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, the largest and most influential organization created by the American Jews to coordinate efforts on behalf of Soviet Jews, which survives today as NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia.
Joel G. Ackerman Papers (P-787)
Contains newsletters and related documents composed by San Francisco area organizations pertaining to Soviet Jewry. The newsletters are composed by American Jewish activists on behalf of Soviet Jewish refuseniks and refugees. The documents provide insight into the daily lives of Soviet Jewry and the American Jewish fight for Soviet freedom during the 1970s and 1980s. The newsletters document different organizations and attempts to aid Soviet Jewry, their status and their plight. Organizational newsletters included are from such organizations as: The Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, Bay Area Council on Soviet Jewry and Northern California Lawyers' Committee for Soviet Jews. Highlights of the collection include UN Human Rights documents, the Pesach Project (1978-1979) and Twinning programs for Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
Joel Sandberg and Adele Sandberg Papers (P-872) [Digitized]
The collection contains papers of Joel Sandberg and Adele Sandberg, the co-founders of the South Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry. It documents their activities from the mid-1970's to the early 1990's as the leaders of the Soviet Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry, and individual efforts in the American Soviet Jewry Movement. The documents include correspondence, memos, minutes, and news clippings.
Judith A. Manelis Papers (P-970) [Digitized]
The collection contains the papers of Judith A. Manelis, the Executive Director of the Communications Department of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York. The papers pertain to the UJA-Federation Campaign for Soviet Jewish Emigres.
Julia Mates Cheney Papers (P-806) [Partially digitized]
This collection consists of a published copy of Cheney's 2002 Master's thesis, Narratives of Courage: Oral Histories of Jewish Émigrés from the Former Soviet Union. For research, Cheney conducted oral history interviews with five Russian Jewish immigrants and one non-Jewish spouse of a Jewish immigrant. The collection includes audiotapes of these interviews, biographical worksheets, release forms, and transcripts. These materials reflect on the Soviet Jewish struggle to emigrate, as the speakers look back and relate, in English, their struggles in the USSR and subsequent life in the U.S.
John Steinbruck Papers (P-951)
The papers of Reverend John Frederick Steinbruck, an ordained Lutheran minister and humanitarian activist, reflect his involvement in the American Soviet Jewry movement.
Kathleen M. Hyman Papers (P-911)
Kathleen M. Hyman of La Grange Park, IL is a former Soviet Jewry movement activist, who was involved with Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry. In 1976 Hyman traveled to the U.S.S.R., where she established contacts with prominent Soviet Jewish Refuseniks. She has been involved with the West Suburban Synagogue in Oak Park and their adopted village Penza in the former Soviet Union and has been a liaison between her synagogue, Congregation Beth Shalom, Naperville, IL and the remnants of the Jewish community in Jekabpils, Latvia.
Laurel Gould and Alan J. Gould Papers (P-866)
The collection contains the papers of Laurel Gould and her husband, lawyer Alan J. Gould. The materials include correspondence, memoranda, individual files on Soviet Jewish Refuseniks, documentation of special projects, events and visits to USSR, publications, legal materials pertinent to the Soviet Jewry, photographs, slides and audio recordings of conversations and interviews with the Soviet Jews.
Lawrence I. Lerner Papers (P-952) [Digitized]
The collection contains the papers of Soviet Jewry movement activist and New Jersey-based attorney, Lawrence I. Lerner, who repeatedly traveled to the Soviet Union in the 1980s to visit Refuseniks. Lerner participated in filing legal pleas for Prisoners of Conscience based on international treaties and the Soviet Constitution, and after the collapse of the U.S.S.R., he became President of the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union. The collection consists of four trip reports in 1988-1989 and 1991 and case histories of Refuseniks.
Leah Lieberman Papers (P-869)
The papers and the oral history of Leah Lieberman reflect the creation and the early activities of the Brooklyn Coalition for Soviet Jewry. Materials include minutes, memorandums, correspondence, photos and a DVD.
Leonard S. Cahan Papers (P-883)
The papers of Rabbi Leonard S. Cahan focus on the imprisonment of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist for demonstrating on behalf of Soviet Jews in front of the Soviet embassy in Washington D.C. on May 1st, 1985.
Leslie Schaffer Papers (P-923) [Digitized]
Papers of the Soviet Jewry movement activist Leslie Schaffer of Reno, Nevada document her trip to the Soviet Union to visit Soviet Jewish Refuseniks in Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev in March of 1982. The collection includes trip reports, notes and photographs, correspondence, biographies of the Refuseniks, travel documents and receipts and background materials on the U.S.S.R.
Lillian Foreman Papers (P-945)
The papers of Lillian Foreman show her work on behalf of Soviet Jews as a member of the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews. The collection includes correspondence with Jews in the Soviet Union, materials used to create a database of the Refuseniks, items for Bar and Bat Mitzvah Twinning and Adopt-A-Family projects, news clippings monitoring the situation of Jews in the USSR, and newsletters from Soviet Jewry movement organizations.
The collection contains papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Linda Rutta. The materials focus on her activism as an undergraduate student at City College of New York, and her relations with the family of the Soviet Jewish Refusenik, Victor Ozar.
Margery Sanford Papers (P-889)
Papers of Margery Sanford from the early 1970s to the late 1980s related to her activities as the Documentation Committee chairperson of South Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry, as well as her individual efforts in the American Soviet Jewry Movement.
Marilyn Labendz Papers (P-946)
The papers of American Soviet Jewry movement activist Marilyn Labendz, who participated in the MetroWest Conference on Soviet Jewry and chaired the MetroWest mobilization to Summit II.
Meta Joy Jacoby Papers (P-992)
Personal collection of Soviet Jewry Movement activist Meta Joy Jacoby who chaired the Soviet Jewry Committee of the Main Line Reform Temple, Beth Elohim in Wynnewood, PA. The Committee provided moral support to Soviet Jewish families through the mailing of letters and telegrams, placing phone calls, and sending Jewish cultural materials to the Soviet Union. Meta Joy Jacoby repeatedly traveled to the Soviet Union to meet with and deliver aid to the Refuseniks.
Greene, the former President of the Long Island Chapter Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), wrote music and lyrics that were performed or played back at events dedicated to Soviet Jewry in the Long Island area and were delivered to Refuseniks in the Soviet Union by members of the Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry.
The collection documents the work of the prominent activist of the American Soviet Jewry movement in the years 1965-1993. It includes details on Schapira's leadership role with organizations Action for Soviet Jewry, the Bay Area Council on Soviet Jewry, the New England Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, and the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews.
Mort Yadin Papers (P-943) [Digitized]
The papers of Mort Yadin reflect his work on behalf of Soviet Jews as a member of the Washington Committee for Soviet Jewry and the B'Nai Israel Soviet Jewry Committee. Included are transcripts of Yadin's phone conversations with Jews in the USSR, his correspondence with and on behalf of Soviet Jewish Refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience.
The collection contains papers of one of the pioneers of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. Starting in the early 1960s Moshe Decter instigated broad publicity campaigns to raise global awareness about the persecution of Soviet Jews and authored hundreds of articles on the subject in a variety of publications. He established and directed the Jewish Minorities Research bureau, served as the executive secretary of the Conference on the Status of Soviet Jews and as a director of research at the American Jewish Congress.
Papers of Murray Levine, a rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Framingham, MA, worked extensively to help resettle Jewish immigrants arriving from the former Soviet Union and traveled to the Soviet Union to deliver spiritual and material support to Soviet Jewish Refuseniks.
Myrtle Sitowitz Papers (P-908)
The papers of Myrtle Sitowitz reflect her work for Jews in the U.S.S.R. Based in Los Angeles, CA, she was active in The 35's--The Women's Campaign for Soviet Jewry, an international organization with members throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. Sitowitz's collection contains correspondence, newspaper articles, a children's guide to Soviet Jewry, profiles and case histories of the Refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience, community planning information.
Correspondence, photographs and negatives of sites and trips taken, material concerning Soviet Jewry activism and Synagogue services, and trip reports of visits to Jews in the Soviet Union.
Pamela B. Cohen Papers (P-897) [Audio/Visual Files Digitized]
The collection documents activities of the prominent activist of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. Cohen began her activity through the independent grassroots council, Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry (CASJ) and in 1978, served with Marillyn Tallman as co-chair until 1986, when she became the national president of the Washington-based Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ). She served for 10 years.
Pinchas Mordechai Teitz Papers (P-891)
Papers of the prominent Soviet Jewry Movement activist, religious leader, educator and broadcaster Rabbi Teitz of Elizabeth, NJ cover from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The collection contains correspondence related to Soviet Jews, documentation of Teitz' trips to the USSR, his articles on Soviet Jews, the Russian-Hebrew religious books published for Russian-speaking Jews by the enterprise MOHIR (established by Teitz), records of shipments of books and religious items to the USSR, a sound recording on the visit of the Chief Rabbi of Moscow to the USA in 1968, and photographs related to Rabbi Teitz' Soviet Jewry activities in the USA and the USSR.
Rabbi David Goldstein and Shannie Goldstein (P-918)
Papers of Rabbi David Goldstein and Shannie Goldstein contain materials reflecting their work on behalf of Jews in the Soviet Union. The materials include notes, correspondence, fliers, news clippings and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of oversized cardboard-mounted photographs taken by Rabbi Goldstein on the trip to the Soviet Union in 1983.
The collection contains papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Rachel Braun. The materials focus on the tour of the Soviet Union she took in 1979, under the guise of a tourist, with the intention to secretly meet Soviet Jews, deliver messages and material aid for the Refuseniks and Soviet Jewish Prisoners of Conscience, and to collect information on their circumstances.
Papers of an American Soviet Jewry movement activist Rabbi Ralph A. Dalin that contains correspondence with Refuseniks in the Soviet Union, sermons, and reports on trips to the USSR, publications and newspaper clippings related to his activism.
Robert Mednick Papers (P-1036)
The collection contains personal papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activist Robert Mednick. Serving as a worldwide managing partner in a prominent Chicago-based holding company Arthur Andersen LLP, Mednick used his professional connections in big business and in the U.S. and European governments to obtain exit visas for 20+ Soviet Jewish Refusenik families.
Ruth Geller Gold Papers (P-953)
The collection consists mostly of correspondence with a family of Soviet Jewish Refuseniks located in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the Poltinnikovs. The case of the Poltinnikovs was referred to by the American Soviet Jewry movement organizations as one of the most tragic stories in the annals of the emigration movement.
Sanford A. Gradinger Papers (P-880)
The collection contains papers of the Rochester, NY businessman and human rights activist Sanford A. Gradinger, who in 1978 co-founded the Andrei Sakharov International Committee to focus international attention on the prominent human rights activist Andrei Sakharov (repressed by the Soviet government), reunite separated Soviet Jewish families and demand the release of Soviet Jewish Refuseniks like Rimma Bravve and Ida Nudel.
The collection covers from the late 1960's to the early 1990's and reflects the activities of Houston Action for Soviet Jewry, co-founded by Rabbi Osadchey. The collection also contains print and near print materials from various American and European Soviet Jewry Movement organizations, and background information on the situation of Jews in the Soviet Union during that period.
The Si Frumkin Papers include his articles on the subjects of the Holocaust, Israel, the Soviet Union and Soviet Jews from the mid- and the late 1980's, a video interview with him, and video recordings of several television programs related to the topic of Soviet Jewry.
Sylvia Weinberg Papers (P-928) [Digitized]
The papers of Sylvia Weinberg reflect her work on behalf of Jews in the U.S.S.R. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Mrs. Weinberg was active in The 35's--The Women's Campaign for Soviet Jewry, an international organization with members throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand.
The papers of Dr. Victor Borden, a Gynecologist/Obstetrician from New Jersey, reflect his activism in the American Soviet Jewry movement. The collection focuses on a physician humanitarian mission to the Soviet Union led by Dr. Borden in 1987. The mission consisted of seven Jewish doctors from New Jersey and Tennessee, traveling under the guise of tourists. The doctors provided medical consultations and evaluations to over 150 members of the Soviet Jewish Refusenik community.
The collection documents life and works of a prominent human rights expert who played a leadership role in the American Soviet Jewry movement. Dr. Korey served as a regional director of Anti-Defamation League and later as a founding director of B'nai Brith International's U.N. office which worked on the problem of discrimination faced by the Jews in the Soviet Union.