18 May 9 • 2019
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A Soviet Jewry Activist
N
atan Sharansky was
born Anatoly Borisovich
Shcharansky in 1948 in
Donetsk, Ukraine. In 1973, after his
request for an exit visa was denied
from the Soviet government, he
became a “refusenik”
and an activist on
behalf of Soviet Jews
seeking to leave Russia
and relocate to Israel.
Four years later, in
1977, his outspoken
activities led to his
arrest on trumped up
charges of treason and spying for the
United States. He spent 13 years in
prisons and labor camps, a great deal
of that time in solitary confinement.
It was in prison that he taught him-
self Hebrew and played chess, always
hopeful that he would someday get to
Israel.
As an outspoken advocate for
freedom of religion and freedom of
speech, his unusual friendship with
the Honorable Damon J. Keith was a
natural. But how did these two lions of
justice meet?
Judge Keith, it seems, visited the
Soviet Union prior to Sharansky’
s
arrest.
The judge was part of a group
monitoring the Helsinki Accords, as
was Sharansky to the chagrin of the
Soviet government. Both Keith and
Sharansky were deeply committed to
the rights of individuals to pray in any
form they wished, to move freely from
one country to another and to speak
openly.
When Judge Keith met Sharansky,
his future looked grim. The judge,
always with a broad smile, a twinkle in
his eye and an optimistic outlook, told
the soon-to-be prisoner that he “liked
his hat.
” Sharansky was wearing a fur-
trimmed winter hat. Natan Sharansky
said, “I like yours.
” The judge proposed
they trade hats and return them when
they next met “in freedom.
”
Years later in Detroit, after
Sharansky’
s release in 1986, at the
Detroit Free Press office, the hats were
“returned.
” At that time, Sharansky
was an Israeli citizen and Judge Keith
arranged to meet him for an exchange
that neither of them had thought
would occur.
What is not known is that from his
early days on the watch committee
for the Helsinki Accords, Judge Keith
was a Soviet Jewry activist. He spoke
to the Jewish community at the Jewish
Center in 1981, he wrote letters and
never missed an opportunity to stand
up for the basic human rights of Soviet
Jews.
Judge Damon J. Keith lived what he
believed. He leaves more than a gap;
he leaves a hole. He will be missed. ■
Jeannie Weiner is the former chair of the Soviet
Jewry Committee of the JCRC.
Jeannie Weiner
In the U.S., more than 1 million
women are being supervised by the
criminal justice system as prisoners,
parolees or probationers. They face
major challenges during incarcer-
ation and afterward. Zieva Dauber
Konvisser, Ph.D., a nationally recog-
nized expert on wrongful incarcer-
ation and recovery from incarcera-
tion, will discuss how religious faith
may help women while in prison
and after their release.
The program will be from
7-9 p.m. Monday, May 13, at
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak
Park.
Konvisser is a trauma research-
er and adjunct assistant professor
of criminal justice at Wayne State
University, as well as a fellow at the
Institute for Social Innovation at
Fielding Graduate University. She
will focus on how women cope with
imprisonment and the potential role
of faith in helping them rebuild their
lives.
This community program is part
of the Exploring Religious Landscapes
series presented by the InterFaith
Leadership Council of Metropolitan
Detroit. There is no charge for the
presentation although donations
are welcome. Register in advance at
detroitinterfaithcouncil.com. ■
How Religion Can Help Women Inmates Rebuild
jews d
in
the
continued from page 16
Questions?
Email Sy Manello at
smanello@renmedia.us
or call him at 248-351-5147.
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