A narrative podcast from the American Jewish Historical Society<\/em> 9 episodes \u00b7 2025<\/p>\n Listen at AJHS<\/a> | Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/p>\n The Wreckage<\/em> follows Soviet Jews struggling to leave the USSR as totalitarianism descended, and chronicles how a grassroots movement among American Jews grew to secure their release \u2014 and how this shaped the political identity of the American Jewish community.<\/p>\n Episode 1: The Delegation<\/strong> Episode 2: The Refuseniks<\/strong> Episode 3: The Hijackers<\/strong> Episode 4: The Students<\/strong> Episode 5: The Coalitions<\/strong> Episode 6: The Travelers<\/strong> Episode 7: The Stateless<\/strong> Episode 8: The New Americans<\/strong> Episode 9: The Dissolution (Bonus Episode)<\/strong> The Wreckage, Season 3: “Open Up the Gates” A narrative podcast from the American Jewish Historical Society Hosted by Rebecca Naomi Jones Produced and written by Gemma Birnbaum, Shaul Kelner and Andrew Sperling 9 episodes \u00b7 2025 Listen at AJHS | Apple Podcasts About the Season The Wreckage follows Soviet Jews struggling to leave the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[55,10],"class_list":["post-867","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-podcasts","tag-soviet-jewry-movement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":883,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/867\/revisions\/883"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/shaulkelner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHosted by Rebecca Naomi Jones<\/em>
\nProduced and written by Gemma Birnbaum, Shaul Kelner and Andrew Sperling<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAbout the Season<\/h3>\n
Episodes<\/h3>\n
\nA delegation of American Orthodox rabbis traveled to the Soviet Union in June 1956, marking the first significant contact between U.S. Jews and Soviet Jewry in nearly four decades. Featuring Rabbi Herschel Schacter, a former U.S. Army chaplain who had worked with Holocaust survivors.<\/p>\n
\nSoviet Jews who applied for exit visas \u2014 primarily to Israel \u2014 and the majority whose applications were denied, creating the plight of those known as Refuseniks.<\/p>\n
\nIn summer 1970, Soviet Jewish dissidents organized a group of 16 refuseniks to attempt an airplane takeover to escape to Israel. The operation, called “Operation Wedding,” was intercepted by the KGB, leading to a widely publicized trial that ignited international attention to Soviet human rights violations.<\/p>\n
\nCollege students became driving forces in the American Soviet Jewry movement. Jacob Birnbaum founded the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry in 1964, inspired by civil rights activism and dedicated to supporting refuseniks.<\/p>\n
\nVarious Jewish and non-Jewish organizations collaborated to support Soviet Jewry, coordinating between grassroots and established nonprofits despite internal tensions. Featuring Shaul Kelner.<\/p>\n
\nAmerican activists traveled to the Soviet Union to meet with Jewish residents and provide support, navigating dangerous conditions and KGB restrictions. Featuring Shaul Kelner.<\/p>\n
\nAmerican Jewish aid organizations deployed caseworkers worldwide to help resettle Jewish emigres across the United States, Israel, Canada, and other nations.<\/p>\n
\nOver four decades, more than 500,000 Soviet Jews emigrated to the United States, settling throughout the country and integrating into American Jewish communities.<\/p>\n
\nA live-recorded series finale featuring scholars and creators discussing the Soviet Jewry movement and its historical significance. Featuring Gemma Birnbaum, Shaul Kelner and Gal Beckerman. Moderated by Julie Salomon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"