Anniversary of the Exodus of the Russian Jews w/ Natan Sharansky | Charney Report (Segment) — Transcript

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1. 0:01welcome to the best of the leon charney
2. 0:03report for over two decades leon charney
3. 0:05one of the architects of the historic
4. 0:07camp david peace accords has interviewed
5. 0:09some of the most important figures in
6. 0:10modern day history these interviews
7. 0:12provide a window into some of the most
8. 0:14significant events of the last 50 years
9. 0:18this excerpt is about the exhibit let my
10. 0:20people go at the museum of jewish
11. 0:22heritage it celebrates the 25th
12. 0:24anniversary of the jewish exodus from
13. 0:26russia where leon charney played a
14. 0:28prominent role in getting the jews to
15. 0:31israel zeon chani was one of the leaders
16. 0:34of the movement in
17. 0:36the united states
18. 0:38he he was an activist at the time
19. 0:41and he
20. 0:42in a way led a number of jewish
21. 0:44organizations to be
22. 0:46part of the movement you know in the
23. 0:48beginning
24. 0:49there was some reluctance on the part of
25. 0:52world jews and american jews to be
26. 0:55involved in in there they were afraid
27. 0:57not
28. 0:58they were afraid not so much
29. 1:00they were afraid that the
30. 1:03fate of jews
31. 1:04will be
32. 1:05a
33. 1:06will be affected negatively by that kind
34. 1:09of involvement and i think people like
35. 1:11leonsha now charney said no i mean we
36. 1:14have to stand up we have to
37. 1:16we have to
38. 1:19say what we believe in we have to show
39. 1:22that we are responsible for each other
40. 1:24we're responsible for every dream
41. 1:27and therefore
42. 1:28we are going to be part of this
43. 1:30worldwide movement that we in the end
44. 1:33release jews from from
45. 1:36the the dictatorship of the former
46. 1:39soviet union by the way there are a
47. 1:40number of them here
48. 1:42a number of important activists from
49. 1:44from that era leon
50. 1:46charney was
51. 1:48very well known and really
52. 1:50focused on this struggle but you have
53. 1:52here stephen greenberg who was a young
54. 1:54man at the time and was very involved
55. 1:56with the soviet jewry movement you have
56. 1:59a mark levine who still had
57. 2:01the what used to be called the national
58. 2:03council or soviet jew first of your jury
59. 2:06it's still called the acronym is still
60. 2:08ncsj he was very involved as well felix
61. 2:12frankel
62. 2:13who came so
63. 2:14you have people who are very involved in
64. 2:17this movement actually they're also
65. 2:19standing here well for the last 32 years
66. 2:22i've been on the staff of the national
67. 2:24conference and soviet jury
68. 2:26but my involvement began even before
69. 2:29that as a
70. 2:30as a teenager in bbyo standing across
71. 2:33the street from the white house calling
72. 2:36for the freedom of soviet jews when did
73. 2:39that first start for you for me 1969
74. 2:421916
75. 2:44uh and they document the movement of
76. 2:46starting in 1967.
77. 2:48yes did the
78. 2:50six day war have that kind of effect on
79. 2:52your word motivating you to then well
80. 2:55i i think it i think it had an effect on
81. 2:58the entire american jewish community
82. 3:01i think it not only in terms of helping
83. 3:04to spur activity on endangered jewish
84. 3:07communities around the world but it also
85. 3:10gave a stronger sense of
86. 3:13of our own identity and
87. 3:16more importantly for soviet jews
88. 3:19it was a catalyst to become more visible
89. 3:22more public in their campaign to gain
90. 3:25their freedom after hearing from the
91. 3:27soviet jews themselves that
92. 3:30you know that american jews and others
93. 3:32around the world had to be more vocal
94. 3:34more visible
95. 3:37we became more vocal and more visible
96. 3:39and
97. 3:41led to hopefully i think in a small way
98. 3:45we most importantly we're the soviet
99. 3:47jews themselves in pushing their
100. 3:48government
101. 3:49i've always believed that
102. 3:52that our own community in a small but
103. 3:55significant way played a part in also
104. 3:58opening up those immigration gates
105. 4:00where are you from ohio
106. 4:02what are you doing what are you doing
107. 4:03ohio i'm in the real estate business do
108. 4:04you think you could find something like
109. 4:05this in uh
110. 4:07shaker heights absolutely not i mean
111. 4:09it's an incredible experience you have
112. 4:11to be here to feel something like this
113. 4:14you're on american television what do
114. 4:15you want to tell the people
115. 4:17it's an opportunity
116. 4:20the gates are open
117. 4:22we need to
118. 4:24pull together
119. 4:25as one
120. 4:27and do what we can for these people
121. 4:30is this your first time in israel my
122. 4:31second time you're coming back i'm
123. 4:34coming back
124. 4:35very emotional right now it's it's
125. 4:37overwhelming it really is look at this
126. 4:48this is the inn gathering of the united
127. 4:50jewish appeal the marosha and gathering
128. 4:52group greeting russian immigrants
129. 4:54we're standing here with jeffrey how do
130. 4:57you spell your last name
131. 4:59where you from originally i'm originally
132. 5:00from cleveland and your parents my
133. 5:02parents my father's a polish immigrant
134. 5:04came on something like this he went to
135. 5:06siberia
136. 5:07and then to australia
137. 5:09my mother was born in egypt
138. 5:11we came to america
139. 5:13we have a wonderful family
140. 5:16we're lucky people
141. 5:18yeah as a
142. 5:19citizen of soviet union we had a
143. 5:20passport which had five lines
144. 5:23identifying you and the fifth line
145. 5:25said your nationality being jewish in
146. 5:28russia was nationality i grew up in a
147. 5:30very strong yiddish-speaking household
148. 5:33my both of my parents spoke yiddish my
149. 5:35grandfather was an orthodox jew until
150. 5:37the age of 90
151. 5:39went to the farmer's market bought a
152. 5:41chicken went to shorehead so i knew a
153. 5:43lot more and i was circumcised surprised
154. 5:46and also ukrainian kids at seven told me
155. 5:49that i was a [ __ ] so it was a good
156. 5:51reminder
157. 5:52through fair amount of anti-semitism at
158. 5:5417 i had to go to siberia for five years
159. 5:57in school only because i happen to be
160. 5:58jewish so it's funny when people call me
161. 6:01hit russian and there they would call me
162. 6:02a jew
163. 6:04we're back if you get a feeling this
164. 6:06looks like germany in 1933
165. 6:08it could be russia 1933. this is the
166. 6:11communist party right behind us when i
167. 6:14was here 20 years ago there were no
168. 6:15modern stores on this street everything
169. 6:17was state-owned the only store you saw
170. 6:19was a boom store and you one thing i
171. 6:22remember about russia 20 years ago was
172. 6:24very bleak
173. 6:25and there were no signs no lighting i
174. 6:27mean it looked very down now it looks
175. 6:28like you're right it looks like fifth
176. 6:30avenue you walk through the radisson
177. 6:32hotel you would think you're in the
178. 6:33plush plaza hotel on fifth avenue but
179. 6:36this seems to be splitting off from the
180. 6:38mainstream of the country these people
181. 6:40here don't seem to be doing that well
182. 6:42and you have a huge mafia in this
183. 6:44country a huge criminal society it's
184. 6:46sort of uh uh it's it's really a
185. 6:49free-for-all in a sense it's like the
186. 6:51wild west i can see the fierceness in
187. 6:53the people
188. 6:58isn't that
189. 6:58what i'm screaming
190. 7:06there's an anti-semitic outbreak here
191. 7:08zionism will not win a bit frightening
192. 7:11to see this
193. 7:12you see films of uh the hitler youth in
194. 7:141933 you sort of get a feeling you're in
195. 7:16the middle of a crowd like that today
196. 7:19it's not very happening is it
197. 7:21not really
198. 7:22yeah unfortunately
199. 7:24it seems to me that any jew in this
200. 7:26country who has the ability to
201. 7:28scram as we say in the vernacular want
202. 7:30to take his visa get to israel as
203. 7:32quickly as possible
204. 7:34nathan sharansky is symbolized for many
205. 7:37people
206. 7:38the struggle for human rights and for
207. 7:40jewish rights
208. 7:42and his a
209. 7:45conduct throughout the period was one
210. 7:48that inspired people all over the world
211. 7:51his determination to learn hebrew to
212. 7:54study about jurism was and to fight and
213. 7:58his willingness to be in jail in spite
214. 8:00of it all
215. 8:01he definitely inspired everyone by the
216. 8:04way for your information he was the
217. 8:05chairman of bethesda
218. 8:08when the exhibit first opened
219. 8:10so he's certainly had an influence as
220. 8:12well and another important the russian
221. 8:15russian connection is very important
222. 8:17because the
223. 8:19ministry of public diplomacy
224. 8:21a in diaspora affairs which is headed by
225. 8:26edelstein
226. 8:28who is also a refugee in a russian jew
227. 8:32sponsored this exhibit helped us really
228. 8:34bring this exhibit to the united states
229. 8:37we're back i'm leon chine i'm talking to
230. 8:39nathan sharansky and i got a little bit
231. 8:42of history with this uh young guy here
232. 8:44because in 77 or 78 israel weitzman was
233. 8:47the minister of defense
234. 8:48and i was very close to him so one day
235. 8:50he calls me says uh charlie got to get
236. 8:52over here i got a lady here she's a
237. 8:54great lady her name is avital shiransky
238. 8:56and her husband's in a gulag and you got
239. 8:59to see what you can do call president
240. 9:00carter see if you can help this guy
241. 9:03so we got on the phone and she was there
242. 9:05with a rabbi i remember avital is her
243. 9:07name
244. 9:08and uh we spent a couple of times a
245. 9:10couple of years trying to assist him but
246. 9:12we're not the only ones who did it but i
247. 9:14can tell you that president carter
248. 9:15brought your name up at the salt uh
249. 9:18treaty with brezhnev
250. 9:20i also went personally to visit uh krei
251. 9:23ski and kreiske called cassigan
252. 9:26for me
253. 9:27to see if we could help and assist you
254. 9:30get out of the country so here you are
255. 9:32in my studio well thank you for
256. 9:34helping
257. 9:36look at the great history yeah huh yeah
258. 9:38well
259. 9:39it was a great history i think a great
260. 9:42struggle for us for soldiers but also
261. 9:44for american jews
262. 9:46a lot of jews were committed to it jerry
263. 9:48goodman i remember
264. 9:50for 30 years american jews were
265. 9:53demonstrating and pressing and sending
266. 9:55letters and
267. 9:56bringing information to russia and
268. 9:58taking it from russia
269. 10:00and
270. 10:02it's really this solidarity of jewish
271. 10:04people in the end brought soviet empire
272. 10:06down do you know the name david david
273. 10:08chelsea
274. 10:10these were the three guys that i took
275. 10:12out from minsk firstly i was in the
276. 10:14synagogue i'm a cantor i started to sing
277. 10:17that then i went to uh i was there under
278. 10:20the senate uh of senator hartney of
279. 10:22indiana
280. 10:23and he gave me authority on his
281. 10:25stationary to save anybody i thought
282. 10:28that we could save now the jews should
283. 10:30save for humanitarian reasons i never
284. 10:32want to meet the people i save so i
285. 10:34never met you because sometimes you meet
286. 10:36people that you don't know who what
287. 10:38their character is but i did take off
288. 10:40sicher olshansky and david dovich you
289. 10:43didn't take their daughter she died
290. 10:47that's right he died in in minsk yeah
291. 10:49it's a very famous case they made a big
292. 10:51party for me i don't know what happened
293. 10:53yeah there was although they were
294. 10:55great guys they were real heroes of
295. 10:58belarusian jewish movement
296. 11:00they were all former colonels of soviet
297. 11:02army exactly and uh i have a picture of
298. 11:05them in my book and i we brought them
299. 11:07out i met a guy named ryan
300. 11:10if it is bahrain
301. 11:12so
302. 11:13my senator said always bring a camera
303. 11:16because everybody loves to have that
304. 11:18picture taken
305. 11:19so i go in and see very very was chief
306. 11:21for the ovir which was the guys who gave
307. 11:24the visas right yeah
308. 11:25so i says you want your picture taken he
309. 11:28talks no but
310. 11:29i don't tell he's talking about in
311. 11:30russian yeah take the picture so i have
312. 11:33his picture
313. 11:34and they said no one ever had his
314. 11:35picture before and he had a lot of power
315. 11:37right he was he was giving the visas
316. 11:39yeah until he was fired he had occupied
317. 11:43they all and then they would fight
318. 11:45because they had to blame somebody for
319. 11:47the failure of all these campaigns
320. 11:50so all right not time so you you married
321. 11:53davital and i think one day after you
322. 11:55were married you were sent to prison am
323. 11:57i correct one day after i was uh married
324. 12:00i retired
325. 12:01went to israel because she had the visa
326. 12:03and i was then we decided at least she
327. 12:05will be there and we were sure
328. 12:07that in the three or four months we'll
329. 12:10meet in israel and it took 12 years
330. 12:13i remember and weitzman really helped i
331. 12:15mean he was very instrumental and so was
332. 12:17carter i mean
333. 12:19maybe he does
334. 12:20things it really helped you was it
335. 12:22terrible in those presents
336. 12:24of course it was terrible
337. 12:25but
338. 12:28uh what was really important was that to
339. 12:31feel to know that
340. 12:33the free world and your people are with
341. 12:35you and though it was an absolute
342. 12:37resolution did you know it by the way i
343. 12:39i didn't well in nine years i had two
344. 12:41private meetings with the family
345. 12:44under the law i had to have such
346. 12:46meetings every half a year but for
347. 12:48so-called bad behavior they were
348. 12:49depriving me so
349. 12:51these two meetings i heard some but of
350. 12:53course i could never know how powerful
351. 12:57this campaign was
352. 12:59but
353. 13:01i didn't know whether i'll
354. 13:03get out alive because
355. 13:06i never know but i didn't know that they
356. 13:08will not
357. 13:09succeed to break i'll tell you something
358. 13:11you never heard when i talked i was very
359. 13:13close to you took robin and when i said
360. 13:15you know we're trying to help this fella
361. 13:17sharansky says well maybe he's in the
362. 13:18c.i.a
363. 13:20you've never heard that before only on
364. 13:22this show and i could see where i told
365. 13:24it to me
366. 13:25that's what he told me on sevena ravashi
367. 13:28street in his we have in his living room
368. 13:30in the back room they had a library yeah
369. 13:32where he sat without his shoes he said
370. 13:34maybe cia i'm never thinking about it he
371. 13:37believed the russians
372. 13:41you never hear this anyplace except this
373. 13:43show believe me
374. 13:44you know the history but in fact if we
375. 13:46were speaking about carter
376. 13:48he did one thing which was important in
377. 13:50fact with cartoons there were many
378. 13:52disappointments but one thing which was
379. 13:54extremely important he went public and
380. 13:56said that he personally looked into the
381. 13:58archives of cra and that sharon has no
382. 14:01connection right now to anything and
383. 14:02that had a very big influence on all the
384. 14:05campaign the tremendous i write about
385. 14:07that in my book called
386. 14:09spy for peace we'll get you a copy of it
387. 14:11we'll trade books tonight i write about
388. 14:13that
389. 14:14and and i said to carter i'm going to uh
390. 14:18uh uh what's his name in austria
391. 14:20chrysler
392. 14:21and can i can i use your name and he
393. 14:23said to me you know the song fill on a
394. 14:25blue uh fiddler on the roof a blessing
395. 14:28on your head do it and he was wonderful
396. 14:30on that and he was very good to
397. 14:32uh iranian
398. 14:33jews who were stuck he gave them visas
399. 14:35so the jews have to be careful about how
400. 14:38they treat carter we know we know the
401. 14:40whole story i go through it every
402. 14:41weekend
403. 14:42in modern middle east history only one
404. 14:44peace treaty has stood the test of time
405. 14:45the 1978 camp david accord in the new
406. 14:48documentary film backdoor channels the
407. 14:50price of peace learn the true story
408. 14:52behind the greatest diplomatic
409. 14:53achievement of our time and its lessons
410. 14:55for the
411. 14:56future the price of peace is very high
412. 15:00to have this courageous man and my close
413. 15:02friend killed
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417. 15:13the preceding program was brought to you
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