SJMEP News
Dear Friends, As the summer season unfolds, it’s a pleasure to stay connected with you and share what’s new at SJMAP. In recent months, we’ve reflected on how to make the greatest impact in the years ahead. With the world very different today compared to when SJMAP was established just three years ago, we see […]
Dear Friends, As spring arrives, we hope this season finds you well and is filled with new possibilities. We are pleased to share updates with you on what’s happening at SJMAP. 2025 has brought a host of activities. Below are a couple of highlights which offer a taste of the opportunities we are providing to […]
SJMAP Congratulates Shaul Kelner
SJMAP congratulates Shaul Kelner (SJMAP Advisory Board member) for receiving the Jewish Book Council’s National American Jewish Studies Award for his new book “A Cold War Exodus – How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews.” An extremely worthwhile read.
Fifty Years Ago – Soviets Arrest American Students Who Visit Refuseniks
The Soviets had long been using tactics of harassment, arrest, and incarceration on Soviet Jews. By the early 1970’s Soviet officials were using intimidation tactics on Western tourists who visited refuseniks. In July 1974 an incident of such harassment involving U.S. college students Miriam Rosenblum and Sheldon Benjamin brought widespread attention and condemnation in the […]
Webinar: The Cleveland Pioneers Who Started it All
SOVIET JEWRY MOVEMENT ARCHIVES PROJECT inaugural webinar: SOVIET JEWRY MOVEMENT 60TH ANNIVERSARY: The Cleveland Pioneers Who Started it All RECORDED: SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 2024 at 1:00pm (Eastern Time) Featuring: Dr. Shaul Kelner Associate Professor of Sociology & Jewish Studies Vanderbilt University Moderated by: Dr. Sean Martin, Curator for Jewish History – Western Reserve Historical Society SJMAP’S […]
How American Activists Mobilized to Free Soviet Jews by Shaul Kelner A new book, documenting the grassroots Soviet Jewry movement in the U.S., is due for publication April 2024. Shaul Kelner’s A Cold War Exodus delves into the gripping narrative of how men and women, through ingenuity and determination, devised mass mobilization tactics during a three-decade-long campaign […]
Soviet Jewry Movement 60th Anniversary
A COMMEMORATION & DEDICATION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2023 • 12:00pm EDT Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism, Founded October 1963 Dedication of Ohio History Marker Preserving & Sharing These Stories: Soviet Jewry Movement Archives Project Downloadable PDF with full details EVENT DESCRIPTION Celebrate the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Soviet Jewry Movement. The Cleveland […]
60th Anniversary of the first Soviet Jewry advocacy organization to be marked October 2023
The 60th anniversary of the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism (CCSA) – the first independent group in North America, and beyond, formed to advocate for Soviet Jews will be celebrated on Sunday, October 22, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. The CCSA was founded by a group of young professionals at Beth Israel-The West Temple in Cleveland: […]
Historical Marker Designates First Soviet Jewry Organization in North America
North America’s first organization formed to advocate for Soviet Jews has been recognized with a historical marker in Cleveland, Ohio where the earliest efforts began. The marker, titled “A Modern-Day Exodus,” recognizes the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism (CCSA), started in 1963 and led by Louis Rosenblum, Herb Caron, and Rabbi Daniel Litt. The marker […]