Sharansky was freed from Soviet captivity in February of 1986. Jewish unity helped to bring about his release — and he says it remains key today. In this interview, Sharansky reflects on his own family’s practice of marking the occasion, which may hold a lesson for many of us.
From Treblinka to Stalingrad: The Many Truths of Vasily Grossman
How a Soviet-Jewish reporter became one of the 20th century’s most essential truth-tellers.
What Made This Top Russian Jewish Author Descend into Madness?
Lev Levanda spent decades advocating for Jewish assimilation into Russian culture. It all changed after pogroms shook the empire…
“Your rabbi was taken as a hostage”: Accounts of Russian Tactics in WWI
Hostage-taking and forced migration were just two methods used by Russian forces in Ukraine and Poland a century ago
Photographed Together: Begin’s Father and Sharon’s Grandfather
Long before the State of Israel, the two men worked together at a Jewish bank and Jewish self-defense organization in Brest-Litovsk
Did Esperanto Answer the ‘Jewish Question’?
How Jewish was the international tongue that never quite made it…?
This Remarkable Woman Made the First Israeli Flag in Jerusalem
Rebecca Affachiner trailblazed across multiple continents, and she did it all as a single, religious Jewish woman…
From Russian Villagers to Galilean Farmers: The Story of the Dubrovins
Yoav Dubrovin, a farmer from Russia, immigrated to Ottoman Palestine with his family in the early 20th century | The Dubrovins were among a group of Russian converts to Judaism who settled in the Land of Israel, in hopes of leading a Jewish life | Eighty years later, the family farm is now a museum and visitor’s center commemorating the lives of the area’s early pioneers
8 Nights, 8 Treasures, 8 Languages
Join us for a Hanukkah video journey across cultures and time, featuring treasures from the National Library of Israel!
Elie Wiesel’s Haunting, Mysterious and Brilliant Master
“Mr. Shushani” reportedly knew the entire Hebrew Bible, Talmud and countless other texts by heart. His Nobel-laureate student never knew his real name.
