Born in 1930 in Korosten, Ukraine, to a family which observed Jewish traditions, he was, while at university, one of organizers of Jewish students groups engaged in study of Jewish literature and history. In 1951 he was arrested together with his entire group and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. He served his sentence in the Vorkuta camps. He was released in 1956 but it wasn’t till 1974 that he managed to get to Israel.
