Yosef Mendelevitch (or Mendelovitch) (b. 1947 in
Riga) is a
refusenik from the former
Soviet Union, also known as a "Prisoner of Zion" and now a politically unaffiliated
rabbi[1][2] living in
Jerusalem who gained fame for his adherence to
Judaism and public attempts to emigrate to
Israel at a time when it was against the law in the
USSR.
Biography
Mendelevich was born in Riga and started his Jewish activities in the 1960s. He formed a student group of underground Jewish Education in 1966 and became an editor of an underground newsletter Iton on Jewish issues in 1969. Being repeatably refused the right to immigration, he became one of the leaders of the
Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair, recounted in his 2012 memoir, Unbroken Spirit. As punishment, he was imprisoned for eleven years. During the imprisonment he was punished for keeping Jewish precepts. In 1981, after a worldwide struggle, he was released and immigrated to Israel.
He served in Soviet prisons with famous Jewish dissident
Natan Sharansky[3] (amongst others). In Sharansky's memoir Fear No Evil he describes innovative ways Mendelevitch used to communicate with Sharansky, such as through both toilet bowls and radiators.
Mendelevitch had always exhibited leadership qualities. Early on in Israel he headed an organization called Soviet Jewry Information Center[4] and has managed to attract followers to his causes.[5] This has been attested to by his fellow refuseniks, such as
Natan Sharansky: "In May 1988 he [Sharansky] founded the Zionist Forum, in preparation for the future waves of
Aliyah from the Soviet Union, and based its activity on the database formed by former Refusenik Yosef Mendelevitch."[6]
Mendelevitch has been a political activist from his days in the former USSR. When he moved to Israel, he became a globetrotting speaker on behalf of various causes, such as lobbying for the release of convicted spy
Jonathan Pollard in the USA.[7][8][9]
In his autobiography, written in
Hebrew, מבצע חתונה אסיר ציון he describes his struggle as a "Prisoner of Zion."[10]
Mendelevitch has become a popular speaker in various Jewish communities and has spoken out on controversial issues relating to Israel and the former Soviet Union. He has constantly involved himself in political and international affairs, Russia's support for Arab states, and the
Arab–Israeli conflict, such as when he spoke out against a 1991 state visit by Soviet Foreign Minister
Alexander Bessmertnykh's visit to Israel:
"Jews who spent years in Soviet prisons were far less enthusiastic than most Israelis about
Soviet Foreign MinisterAlexander Bessmertnykh's historic visit here Friday. ... 'It's nothing but a bad dream,' said Yosef Mendelevitch, another former Soviet prisoner, commenting on Bessmertnykh's visit, the first by a Soviet foreign minister to Israel. Mendelevitch spent about a decade in Soviet prisons on charges of attempting to hijack an airplane to Israel. He was freed and permitted to emigrate in 1981. He told Israel radio that he still distrusts the Soviets because of Moscow's alliance with Arab states. 'We should remember that a lot of the blood spilled here in the last 40 years was with Soviet weapons,' he added. Sharansky and Mendelevitch also criticized the Soviet leader for hinting Thursday in Amman that the tide of Soviet immigrants to Israel could be halted unless Israel stops building
Jewish settlements in the occupied
West Bank and
Gaza Strip."[11]
There have been many articles, books[12] and documentaries about his life.[13][14]
Sources
Unbroken Spirit: A Heroic Story Of Faith, Courage and Survival, Gefen: 2012.
ISBN978-9652295637.