“The struggle to release Soviet Jewry is the most outstanding example of the power of our people’s solidarity in modern history.” — Natan Sharansky, former refusenik and Prisoner of Zion.
The story of Soviet Jews and the international effort to free them is a lasting lesson, for everyone, in the fight for human rights and against oppression. It also has tremendous potential to strengthen Jewish identity and Jewish solidarity. More than thirty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it remains a mostly untold story and an untapped resource.
That matters now. Antisemitic incidents have surged 361% in the U.S., and 41% of young American Jews have been directly targeted. This generation urgently needs the historical knowledge and resilience to respond effectively.
The successful, epic struggle to free millions of Soviet Jews, one of history’s most effective human rights campaigns, is among the greatest modern Jewish triumphs. Yet today’s young Jews, facing rising antisemitism, rarely hear this story.
The Soviet Jewry Movement Education Project (SJMEP) turns this history into a blueprint for action, equipping young Jews with knowledge, confidence, and practical advocacy skills to face current challenges.
The Soviet Jewry Movement Education Project was formed to preserve and share the history of the Soviet Jewry Movement. SJMEP’s founders are former leaders in the movement and Jewish organizational veterans. Our vision is: Generations of proud, empowered Jews who understand their heritage as one of triumph, not just survival—equipped with historical knowledge, practical advocacy skills, and unshakeable confidence that they too can change the world for the better.
We were originally named the Soviet Jewry Movement Archives Project, with a primary focus on preserving the story of the movement and supporting others to tell that story. In 2025, in recognition of the fact that so little is being taught about the movement throughout the field of education, we changed our primary focus to education/turning these archive materials into living educational resources. Hence the name change to Soviet Jewry Movement Education Project.
SJMEP brings the Soviet Jewry Movement to life, showing how ordinary people from all walks of life became activists and built a grassroots campaign that freed three million Jews, influenced U.S. foreign policy through the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, and helped topple the Iron Curtain. We deliver impact through three integrated strategic pillars:
We are building a comprehensive digital archive hub containing more than 10,000 documents, photographs, audio recordings, and video testimonies from the Soviet Jewry movement. With AI-enhanced search tools and interactive timelines, decades of history will become instantly accessible to educators, students, and researchers around the world. This living archive will be at the heart of all future learning experiences, preserving priceless first-hand accounts and artifacts, and so inspiring generations of learners.
Our vision is to create curricula spanning elementary school through university that transform historical victories into practical advocacy tools. Students learn the Soviet Jewry movement’s core strategies — speaking truth to power, building broad coalitions, grassroots organizing, applying sustained pressure, maintaining hope — and apply them to confronting today’s challenges. Every curriculum undergoes rigorous field testing and impact measurement to ensure educational effectiveness.
Equipping educators with the tools and training to bring this history to life is critical to the success of this initiative. Our pilot community partnerships ensure curricula meet real needs, demonstrate measurable impact, and create scalable models for adoption nationwide. Each trained educator becomes a long-term multiplier, reaching hundreds of students throughout their career.
SJMEP is a virtual hub accessible to everyone via our website. SJMEP itself has no physical structure, rather all of the historical records are located in archives, historical centers, and universities and are curated for your use at sjmep.org.
The Soviet Jewry Movement Education Project is organized under IRS code 501(c)(3) (EIN 88-2912629) and gifts are tax-deductible as provided by law.
Our educational resources will be available free of charge through this website as they are completed. If you’re an educator, rabbi, or community leader who would like to use them, or to be among our first pilot communities, contact us at [email protected], and we’ll be in touch.
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