18 May 9 • 2019
jn

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 
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continued from page 16

Questions?

Email Sy Manello at 
smanello@renmedia.us 
or call him at 248-351-5147.

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