A local fundraising effort led by approximately 35 Dartmouth students will help Jews emigrate from the former Soviet Union to Israel.
The Dartmouth chapter of the United Jewish Appeal will begin a campaign Sunday, Jan. 23 to benefit Operation Exodus, a national program which pays the transportation and resettlement costs of Jews wishing to leave the former Soviet Union.
"We are not talking simply about charity, we are talking about a unique opportunity to stage a mass exodus of Jews from Russia," said Michael Hauser '95, leader of the Dartmouth UJA chapter. "Recently and historically, they have been denied religious and personal freedoms."
As part of the campaign, the group will distribute information, display videos and conduct a telethon to raise awareness about the plight of Jews living in the former Soviet Union.
"The major goal of the campaign is to educate. Once a student becomes educated and aware of the status of the Jews in Russia, I believe that some sort of participation in the campaign is inevitable - monetary contribution, volunteer work, or otherwise," he said.
Last year's efforts raised $1000, the cost of flying a family of four from Moscow to Tel Aviv, information distributed by the Dartmouth group stated.
The UJA is a national organization established by American Jews after World War II to provide financial and material assistance to Jews around the world.
Operation Exodus, one of the largest resettlement movements in modern history, is a special campaign initiated by the UJA in 1990 when the collapse of the Soviet Union's Communist dictatorship resulted in Russian Jews being permitted to leave the country.
"Tzedakah, the concept of helping fellow persons in need, is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and history," said D. A. Gross '95, Hillel President and an active participant in UJA. "I am very happy to see Jews at Dartmouth, through the UJA, continuing the tradition of Tzedakah."
According to Hauser, nearly half a million Jews immigrated to Israel between 1989 and 1992. He added that the number of those filing immigration papers is constantly rising.
"8,000 a month. That is how many Russian Jews are presently boarding planes from the former Soviet Union and resettling in Israel," Hauser said.
Hauser said the recent political success of Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who has made openly anti-Semitic comments, indicates the popularity of Russian resentment against Jews.
But Jews living in Russia are not the only ones in the former Soviet republics facing danger and hardships due to their religious beliefs, Hauser said.
"In Ukraine and Uzbekistan the anti-Semitism is very much in effect on a daily basis. There are Jewish parents who withdrew their children from school for the fear of them being beaten up by anti-Semites," said Hauser. "There is discrimination in terms of jobs. The synagogues have been raided."
Hauser's involvement with the cause of Soviet Jewry began in 1987, when he took part in a Washington D. C. march to protest the Soviet policy of barring Jewish immigration to Israel.
Marvin Lender, national President of the UJA and former owner of Lender's Bagels, said there is an urgent need for funds to help the Jews in Russia.
"They are a Jewish Community at risk, on the cutting edge of an explosive period of anti-Semitism," Lender said. "That's what provides the massive numbers (emigrating) on a day to day basis."
