Part A - Biography

Natan Sharanksy was born in Donetsk, Soviet Union, on January 20, 1948. He graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology with a degree in applied mathematics. In 1973, Sharansky applied and was denied an exit visa from the Soviet Union to Israel. The government said that they had denied his visa because he had been given access, at some point in his career, to information from the Soviet national security and could not now be allowed to leave the country. After that, Sharansky became a human rights activist, continued his Zionist beliefs, and became one of the founders of the Refusenik movement. (Refuseniks were a group of Soviet Jews denied the right to immigrate abroad.)


Who was he?


Natan Sharanksy is married to Avital Shteiglitz. They met in autum of 1973, at a zionist demonstration in front of a Moscow synagogue. The couple was married on July 4, 1974 in the Moscow synagogue in a ceremony not recognized by the government. This is because the USSR only recognized civil marriage and not religious marriage. The night after their marriage, Avital was given permission to go to Israel, but not Natan. She agreed to stay in Russia and wait until he was permitted to leave. Unfortunately, just months later, he was convicted of many crimes, including treason, and other various crimes he did not commit. Sharansky was sentenced to 13 years of solitary confinement. Avital then began a worldwide campaign to free her husband. Watch their story here:


The story of Avital and Natan



Sharansky was released from prison on February 11, 1986. From there he immediately moved to Israel to be with Avital. In 1995, he co-founded the "Yisrael BaAliyah" political party which emphasized the absorption of Soviet immigrants into Israel society. They won their first knesset seats in 1996. In March 2003, his party joined with the Likud party, and he was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs. Sharansky continued to serve in many ministral positions, but resigning in 2005 to protest the unilateral disengagment from Aza. He was reelected to the knesset in 2006 by a fellow Likud member.


In June 2009, Sharansky was elected to the Chair of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Sharansky has written three books, aired on a historical TV documentary, and appeared as guest speakers to many conventions. He is a well-respected leader of our time.


Sharansky and the Jewish Agency


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refusenik

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natan_Sharansky