Jacob Birnbaum - We Salute You

I have signed on to this salute to Dr. Jacob Birnbaum:

CREATOR OF THE STUDENT STRUGGLE FOR SOVIET JEWRY (SSSJ), FIRST INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS THE PLIGHT OF SOVIET JEWRY -- WIDELY REGARDED AS THE FATHER OF THE MOVEMENT TO FREE SOVIET JEWRY, will be presented with the Torch of Freedom Award at the RAJE (Russian American Jewish Experience) annual Gala, to be held on Thursday, March 15th 2012 at Gaustavino’s in Manhattan. This is the first time the Russian American Jewish community will have a chance to thank Dr. Birnbaum for his revolutionary and pioneering work on behalf of Soviet Jewry. Natan Sharansky, the famed Prisoner of Zion, human rights activist and current Chairman of the Jewish Agency, will deliver the Keynote address at the event and there will be a special Message from Senator Charles E. Schumer.

Here is a video prepared for the occasion:

And here are two outtakes of Betarim I caught:

That's Moshe Kiczales of Bronx Betar on the left and in the middle another Betari, Dov Skolnick, in 1964 1968 [? see comment] the first year of major mass public demonstrations that began:

The Betarim are carrying the Geula March sign:

Some other photos we've collected:

here

here


Some history:

here

here

here

here -

A group of former Betarim and other activist lawyers including Moshe Brodetzky, Morty Dolinsky, Yitzhak Heimowitz, Mel Stein and Judah Harris joined forces with SSSJ to set up the “Center for Russian Jewry” chaired by the movie mogul Spiros Skouras with a suite of offices in the Empire State Building. At its dedication the keynote speaker was Congressman (later President) Gerald Ford.

here

here.

And my wife's blog post on Laura Bialis' "Refusenik" film.

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