Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry

American non-governmental organisation supporting Soviet Jewish rights

Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry

Bumper sticker by the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry

Abbreviation| GNYCSJ
Founded at| New York, NY
Type| NGO

The Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry (GNYCSJ) was founded in 1971, as a non-governmental grassroots organization that worked to secure human rights for Jews in the Soviet Union. It served as an umbrella agency for a number of regional organizations of the Soviet Jewry movement. In the 1980 GNYCSJ was renamed Coalition To Free Soviet Jews.[1]

## Activities

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GNYCSJ poster promoting a Soviet Jewry Solidarity Sunday event.

The organization gathered information on the conditions of Jews in the USSR, mostly from the American tourists visiting refuseniks in Soviet Union, and informed federal, state, and local government officials, thus influencing the Soviet-American relations during the two final decades of the Cold War.[1] The GNYCSJ organized public events aimed to raise public awareness of the plight of the Soviet Jewry, including annual Solidarity Sunday rallies that gathered large crowds of supporters in New York City.[2] GNYCSJ co-sponsored the 1987 Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews in Washington, D.C. attended by 250,000 participants.[3]

## Leadership

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Malcolm Hoenlin was the first director of GNYCSJ.[4] During the 1970s the GNYCSJ was chaired by Robert Abrams and during the 1980s by Seymour P. Lachman, who was also a member of the board of directors of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS).[5] Zeesy Schnur served as the executive director.[6]

## Footnotes

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1. ^ a b Lazin, Frederick A. (2005-04-19). The struggle for Soviet Jewry in American politics : Israel versus the American Jewish establishment. Lanham, Md. ISBN 0739161415. OCLC 857769728.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. ^ Gal., Beckerman (2010). When they come for us, we'll be gone : the epic struggle to save Soviet Jewry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547504438. OCLC 759835756.
3. ^ "More Than 200,000 Rally on Behalf of Soviet Jewry in Massive D.C. Gathering". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. December 7, 1987. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
4. ^ A second exodus : the American movement to free Soviet Jews. Friedman, Murray, 1926-2005., Chernin, Albert D. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press. 1999. ISBN 0874519136. OCLC 40521266.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: others (link)
5. ^ "Wagner College Board of Trustees—Dr. Seymour P. Lachman". Wagner College. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
6. ^ Rosenblatt, Gary (November 15, 2017). "30 Years Later, 'The Big Rally' Is Little Remembered". The New York Jewish Week. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

## External links

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* Guide to the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry collection at the American Jewish Historical Society.