Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky | |
---|---|
נתן שרנסקי | |
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs | |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1996–2003 | Yisrael BaAliyah |
2006 | Likud |
Personal details | |
Born | Anatoly Borisovich Scharansky 20 January 1948 Stalino, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
Nationality | Israeli |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (BMath) |
Natan Sharansky[Note 1] (Hebrew: נתן שרנסקי; Russian: Натан Щаранский; Ukrainian: Натан Щаранський; born 20 January 1948) is an Israeli politician, human rights activist, and author. He served as Chairman of the Executive for the Jewish Agency from June 2009 to August 2018,[1] and currently serves as Chairman for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), an American non-partisan organization. A former Soviet dissident, he spent nine years imprisoned as a refusenik during the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography
Sharansky was born into a Jewish family on 20 January 1948 in the city of Stalino (now Donetsk) in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union.
His father, Boris Shcharansky, a journalist from a Zionist background who worked for an industrial journal,[2] died in 1980, before Natan was freed.
His mother, Ida Milgrom, visited him in prison and stubbornly waged a nine-year battle for her son's release from Soviet prison and labor camps.[3] She was permitted to follow her son to Israel six months after he left the Soviet Union.
He attended physics and mathematics high school No.17 in
After Sharansky graduated from university, he began working for a secret state research laboratory. Sharansky lived near Sokolniki Park, on Kolodezniy Pereulok in Moscow. In his spare time, Sharansky would coach young chess players at the famous chess club in the park.[6]
He took his current Hebrew name in 1986 when he was freed from Soviet incarceration as part of a prisoner exchange and received an Israeli passport with his new name.[7][8]
Natan Sharansky is married to Avital Sharansky and has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah.[8][9] In the Soviet Union, his application to marry Avital was denied by the authorities. They were married in a friend's apartment, in a ceremony not recognized by the government, as the USSR only recognized civil marriage and not religious marriage.[10]
Arrest and imprisonment
Sharansky was denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. The reason given for denial of the visa was that he had been given access, at some point in his career, to information vital to Soviet national security and could not now be allowed to leave.[11] After becoming a refusenik, Sharansky became a human rights activist, working as a translator for dissident and nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov, and spokesman for the Moscow Helsinki Group and a leader for the rights of refuseniks.[12] On 15 March 1977 Sharansky was arrested by the
Sharansky spent time in Moscow's
During his imprisonment, he embarked on hunger strikes to protest confiscation of his mail, and he was force-fed at least 35 times, which he describes as "a sort of torture". Sharansky later opposed force-feeding of Palestinian detainees.[16][17]
Release from detention
As a result of an international campaign led by his wife, Avital Sharansky (including assistance from East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, New York Congressman Benjamin Gilman, and Rabbi Ronald Greenwald), Sharansky was released on 11 February 1986 as part of a larger exchange of detainees. He was the first political prisoner released by Mikhail Gorbachev.[18]
Sharansky and three low-level Western spies (Czech citizen
Aftermath
Sharansky immediately emigrated to Israel, adopting the Hebrew name Natan and eventually simplifying his surname to Sharansky.
Due to his age and poor health, he was exempted from the standard compulsory three years' IDF service, but had to undergo three weeks of military training and do a stint in the Civil Guard.[22]
In 1988, he wrote Fear No Evil, a memoir of his time as a prisoner. He founded the Zionist Forum, an organization of Soviet immigrant Jewish activists dedicated to helping new Israelis and educating the public about integration issues, known in Israel as klita (lit. "absorption"). Sharansky also served as a contributing editor to The Jerusalem Report and as a board member of Peace Watch .[23]
Freedom fighter awards
- In 1986, the United States Congress granted him the Congressional Gold Medal.[24]
- In 1987, the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America granted Sharansky the Henrietta Szold Award, given by Ruth Popkin.[25]
- In 2006, US President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[26]
- On 17 September 2008, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation awarded Sharansky its 2008 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award.[27]
Israeli political career
In 1995, Sharansky and
In the January 2003 elections, the party was reduced to just two seats. Sharansky resigned from the Knesset and was replaced by Edelstein. However, he remained party chairman and decided to merge it into Likud (which had won the election with 38 seats). The merger went through on 10 March 2003,[30] and Sharansky was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs.
From March 2003 – May 2005, he was Israel's
Previously he served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Minister of Housing and Construction since March 2001,
He resigned from the cabinet in April 2005 to protest plans to
He was re-elected to the Knesset in March 2006 as a member of the Likud Party. On 20 November 2006, he resigned from the Knesset.[34]
NGO work and other activities
In 2019 Natan Sharansky became the Chairman of the
Since 2007, Sharansky has been chairman of the board of
In June 2009, Sharansky was elected to the chair of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel by the Jewish Agency Board of Governors.[37] In September 2009 Sharansky secured $6 million from the Genesis Philanthropy Group for educational activities in the former Soviet Union.[38]
He is a founding member of One Jerusalem.[citation needed]
Media recognition and awards
In 1997, Sharansky was the focus of a 2.5-hour-long episode of Chaim SheKa'ele ("What A Life"), the Israeli version of
Published works
Sharansky is the author of three books. The first is the autobiographical
His second book, The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror was co-written with Ron Dermer. George W. Bush offered praise for the book:
If you want a glimpse of how I think about foreign policy, read Natan Sharansky's book, The Case for Democracy. ... For government, particularly – for opinion makers, I would put it on your recommended reading list. It's short and it's good. This guy is a heroic figure, as you know. It's a great book.[45][46]
His book Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy, is a defense of the value of national and religious identity in building democracy.[47]
Still another book Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People tells about his political activity and how his personal experience influenced it.[48]
Political views
Sharansky has argued that there can never be peace between Israel and the Palestinians until there is "the building of real democratic institutions in the fledgling Palestinian society, no matter how tempting a 'solution' without them may be."[49] In a Haaretz interview, he said:
Jews came here 3,000 years ago and this is the cradle of Jewish civilization. Jews are the only people in history who kept their loyalty to their identity and their land throughout the 2,000 years of exile, and no doubt that they have the right to have their place among nations—not only historically but also geographically. As to the Palestinians, who are the descendants of those Arabs who migrated in the last 200 years, they have the right, if they want, to have their own state ... but not at the expense of the state of Israel.[7]
In the wake of the
In February 2022, Sharansky called on the Israeli government to take “a clear moral stand” against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Leadership, Board & Staff". The Jewish Agency for Israel. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (3 May 2002). "Ida Milgrom, 94, Dies; Helped Free a Son Held by Soviets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
- ^ Dennis McLellan (4 May 2002). "Ida Milgrom, 94; Sought Dissident Son's Freedom". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020.
- ^ a b Schmemann, Serge (16 October 1996). "Kasparov beaten in Israel, by Russians". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Natan Sharansky: how chess kept one man sane". BBC News. 3 January 2014.
- ^ "КГБ играет в шахматы (Fb2) | КулЛиб – Классная библиотека! Скачать книги бесплатно".
- ^ a b Desch, Michael (28 March 2005). "Sharansky's double standard". The American Conservative.
- ^ a b "Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Natan Sharansky receives Guardian of Zion Award for defending Jerusalem
- ^ "Man in the news: Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky; a free man at last". The New York Times. 12 February 1986.
- ^ Jewish Agency head Sharansky to get Israel Prize for immigration absorption
- ^ Timeline: Forty Years Of The Moscow Helsinki Group
- ^ Toth, Robert (22 November 1976). "Russ indirectly reveal 'state secrets': clues in denials of Jewish visas". Los Angeles Times.
- The Milwaukee Sentinel. 12 July 1978.[permanent dead link]
- Moment Magazine.
- ^ "'I was force fed at least 35 times in Soviet prison,' Sharansky says". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Sharansky Recalls Force Feeding in Soviet Prison Was 'Torture' | Hamodia.com". Hamodia. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Sharansky Speaks
- ^ Markham, James M (12 February 1986). "Shcharansky Wins Freedom in Berlin in Prisoner Trade". The New York Times.
- ^ Broder, Jonathan (12 February 1986). "Hero is home: Israel cheers Sharansky". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Moseley, Ray (11 February 1986). "Shcharansky swap confirmed (Sharansky swap confirmed)". Archived from the original on 27 January 2020.
- ^ "Sharansky begins military training". The Spokesman-Review. 1 March 1988.
- ^ Natan Sharansky, Honorary Member
- ^ Congressional Gold Medal recipients Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved on 9 September 2011.
- ^ Guide to the Operations and Functions Records in the Hadassah Archives, RG 15, Box 45, Folder 25, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston and New York
- ^ Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. 7 December 2006
- ^ Natan Sharansky to receive Ronald Reagan Freedom Award. Ynetnews (AP) (28 February 2008)
- ISBN 978-0-89221-644-4.
- ^ "Governments of Israel". Knesset.gov.il. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Parliamentary Groups in the Knesset". Knesset.gov.il. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Nonna Gorilovskaya. "The Dissident: An Interview With Natan Sharansky". Mother Jones. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ Natan Sharansky on Human Rights and Democracy in the Middle East
- ^ Sharansky resigns from Israeli cabinet over Gaza
- ^ Sharansky To Resign From Politics
- ^ "Our Professional & Academic Staff » ISGAP". Archived from the original on 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Sharansky new Beth Hatefutsoth head". Ynetnews. (20 June 1995). Retrieved on 9 September 2011.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Berkman, Jacob (2 September 2009). "Genesis group gives Jewish Agency $6 million for education projects in FSU". Jewish Telegraphic Agency g. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
- ^ "Chaim SheKa'ele – Natan Sharansky" (in Hebrew). 1997. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Chafets, Zev (10 April 2005). "Natan Sharansky: Bush's favorite author". Time.
- ^ Yanko, Adir (18 March 2018). "Natan Sharansky wins 2018 Israel Prize". Ynetnews. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ staff, T. O. I. "'Jewish hero' Natan Sharansky wins Israel's prestigious Genesis Prize". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Sharansky donates $1 million Genesis Prize to alleviate COVID-19 suffering". The Jerusalem Post. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "National Jewish Book Award". web.mnstate.edu. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ Dickerson, John (10 January 2005). "What the president reads". CNN International.
- ^ Kristol, William (24 January 2005). "Honoring democracy. From the 24 January 2005 issue: Honor points the path of duty; the path of duty for us is the defense of liberty". The Weekly Standard. 10 (18).
- ^ Sharansky Interview regarding Defending Identity, 14 July 2008. Inkwellreview.blogspot.com (26 July 2008). Retrieved on 9 September 2011.
- ISBN 978-1541742420.
- ISBN 978-0-89221-644-4.
- ^ Natan Sharansky (May–June 2011). "What Is Israel's Next Move in the New Middle East?". Moment Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011.
- ^ Horovitz, David. "Sharansky: Israel must take 'a clear moral stand' against Putin over Ukraine". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "The Ukrainian crisis according to Natan Sharasnky". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
Bibliography
- "Ceasing a life of double thinking". doi:10.1080/0449010X.1986.10703688 (inactive 31 January 2024).)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - Shcharansky, Anatoly; Bonner, Yelena; Alexeyeva, Ludmilla (26 June 1986). "The tenth year of the Watch". The New York Review of Books. 33 (11).
- "As I see Gorbachev". Commentary. 85 (3): 29–34. 1 March 1988.
- "Life in the 'small zone': Sentenced to a labor camp, a Soviet poet tries to stay internally free". Chicago Tribune. 20 November 1988.
- Shcharansky, Anatoly (Spring 1990). "The legacy of Andrei Sakharov". S2CID 154840266.
- "Temple mount is more important than peace". Haaretz. 16 October 2003.
- "On hating the Jews. The inextricable link between anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism". The Wall Street Journal. 17 November 2003.
- "3D test of anti-semitism: demonization, double standards, delegitimization". Jewish Political Studies Review(16): 3–4. Fall 2004.
- "Peace will only come after freedom and democracy". Middle East Quarterly. 12 (1): 79–83. Winter 2005.
- Eid, Bassem; Sharansky, Natan (11 February 2008). "Bush's Mideast U-Turn". The Wall Street Journal.
- "The dissident choice". Los Angeles Times. 24 November 2008.
- "How the U.N. perpetuates the 'refugee' problem. Nowhere on earth do terrorists get so much help from the Free World". The Wall Street Journal. 6 January 2009.
- "Students and Housewives vs. Evil Empire. My KGB interrogators scoffed at it, but the movement to free Soviet Jewry helped end the Cold War". The Wall Street Journal. 5 December 2012.
- "Is Rouhani the new Gorbachev? How to test a supposed reformer: stand firm on sanctions, wait for proof". The Wall Street Journal. 17 November 2013.
- "Marshaling the web to fight tyrants. Western leaders often disappoint dissidents, but now regular citizens world-wide can help out". The Wall Street Journal. 16 July 2014.
- Sharansky, Natan; Keyes, David (6 February 2015). "Trust the dissidents, not the diplomats". The Washington Post.
- "Breaking the silence is no human rights organization – and I should know". Haaretz. 31 January 2016.
- ISBN 1-891620-02-9.
- ISBN 1-58648-261-0.
- ISBN 1-58648-513-X.
Further reading
- Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky: the journey home. Harcourt. 1988. ISBN 978-0151066704.
- "APS joins in appeals for Orlov and Shcharansky". .
- "MPs seek to see Shcharanskii". S2CID 4274944.
- "Shcharanskii trial stirs new anti-Soviet protests". S2CID 32715294.
- New York Media, LLC (6 October 1986). "Shcharansky urges sanctions". New York. 19 (39): 13.
- Hyman, Lloyd; Katz, Joseph; O'Connor, Timothy; Peshkin, Murray; Ringo, Roy (21 October 1977). "Concerning Y. Orlov and A. Sharansky". PMID 17770484.
- Korey, William (1980). "American reaction to the Shcharansky case". JSTOR 23603826.
- Minker, Jack (September 1978). "Opinion paper: science, Shcharansky, and the Soviets". .
- Rich, Vera (12 January 1978). "Shcharanskii may soon be brought to trial-without a lawyer". S2CID 4270569.
- Rich, Vera (6 July 1978). "Shcharanskii trial delayed again, others exiled". S2CID 247372.
- Rich, Vera (20 February 1986). "Shcharanskii release triggers hopes". S2CID 4371730.
- Shlapentokh, Dmitry (August 2005). "President Bush, Shcharansky and the tradition of Russian dissent". Contemporary Review. 287 (1675): 71–81.
- Turnberg, Leslie (7 January 1984). "Anatoly Shcharansky". S2CID 27357552.
- Van Den Berg, Ger; Simons, William (1981). "The Soviet Union and human rights legislation: the Shcharansky case". California Western International Law Journal. 11 (3): 479, 493.
External links
- Natan Sharansky on the Knesset website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- The View from the Gulag. An interview with Natan Sharansky