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Profiles on Courage Research Project
Students will research different personalities from the Soviet Jewry movement. They will determine what motivated them, what happened to them, and what happened to them after the movement ended.
June 14, 2018
Putting It into Action
This lesson introduces students to the idea of social action and prompts them to find their own form of activism.
Need for a Jewish State – A Rosh Hashanah Lesson
The Soviet Union forbade any unique religious ritual from 1917 onward. By the time the state of Israel was declared in 1948, the USSR thought that no one would feel a connection to the Jewish State because their ability to practice Judaism had been suppressed for so long. But, when Golda Meir, the first Israeli envoy and minister to the USSR, arrived on Rosh Hashanah, something unexpected happened.
This picture also appeared on a 10,000 Israeli bill , years later. The photo was taken by a Zionist activist and then a well-known Zionist prisoner, David Havkin.
June 12, 2018
Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. is well known as a great civil rights leader birthday, with his birthday celebrated each year because he actually changed the world. But, how is he connected to the Refusenik movement? In this lesson, students will consider the connections between the civil rights movement, Jewish values, and the struggle for Soviet Jewry.
Jewish Mutual Responsibility
In this lesson students will learn about the concept of Jewish mutual responsibility.
June 11, 2018
Redeeming Captives Text Study
It is an important mitzvah to redeem captives. Where does this law come from, when does it apply, and to what extent does one have to go in order to redeem captives? These ideas will be explored through the text study below.
Image Credit: Association Remember and Save
http://kosharovsky.com/
Interview a Refusenik or Activist
Telling a personal story can often bridge the gap between generations and differing experiences. In this lesson, students connect with a former Refusenik or Soviet Jewry Activist to understand what issues people faced and what motivated people to stand up against injustice.
Image Credit: Association Remember and Save
http://kosharovsky.com/
Historical look at the Situation for Soviet Jews 1940s-1960s
In this lesson, students will learn about the Soviet campaigns against the Jews from the 1940s through the 1960s, the revival of Jewish national identity, and the beginnings of international protests against the situation of the Jews in the Soviet Union.
June 10, 2018
Jewish Identity and Religion in the Soviet Union
In this lesson, students learn of the destruction of Jewish identity and religion in the Soviet Union from its rise until WWII.
Letter Writing Activity
Students will write a letter to a former refusenik or activist. This lesson is a culminating activity at the end of a unit, quarter, or semester. Students will have the opportunity to reflect and articulate on who inspired them personally, and ideals or actions they will incorporate into their own lives.
June 7, 2018
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