Visitors to the exhibit will see photos from historical moments alongside noteworthy images of dramatic events from the late 1980s through today. The exhibit includes photos of many leading refuseniks, including Natan and Avital Sharansky, Yuli Edelstein, Ida Nudel, Yosef Begun, Vladimir Slepak and Avigdor Liberman, as well as key American figures who contributed to the historical effort: Presidents George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan, Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, Senator John Kerry, Edgar Bronfman, Ron Lauder, Malcolm Hoenlein and others.
“During the first two or three years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, more than a million Jewish immigrants, many of whom had for years been denied permission to emigrate, flooded into Israel,” said Limmud FSU founder Chaim Chesler, who developed the exhibit. “In this process, one of the largest voluntary human migrations in history, the face and nature of Israel was irrevocably changed for the better.”The Post has played an important role in chronicling the saga of Soviet Jewry and its subsequent integration into Israeli society, making it the perfect partner to put on such an display, explained the paper’s CEO, Ronit Hasin-Hochman.“As the leading journalistic brand in the Jewish world for the past 80 years, The Jerusalem Post has documented these historical moments and has made news of them for millions of people in Israel, the United States and across the world,” she said.“Along with the Limmud- FSU organization, we have made the decision to create this moving exhibit which will tell the incredible story of Soviet Jewry and those who have worked on their behalf to create a historical process which has changed the face of both the State of Israel and Jewish communities. The exhibit will be launched during The Jerusalem Post Group’s flagship event in New York and from there will visit different places in Israel and the rest of the world.”Sandra Cahn, co-founder of Limmud FSU, and philanthropist Diane Wohl (both of New York) helped to underwrite the exhibit.