Modern-day Exodus

For anyone involved in the Soviet Jewry movement — from the Russians trapped behind the Iron Curtain to the ordinary Jews who took up their cause — our Gal Beckerman’s triumphant new book, “When They Comes For Us, We’ll Be Gone,” is a stirring reminder of the power of peoplehood. “Peoplehood” has become a word both hackneyed and politicized, but in its purest sense, it speaks to the ennobling, impervious bonds that link Jew to Jew. That, in the end, was what propelled this liberation movement: accepting that we are, in fact, responsible for one another. The courage of those who risked their lives simply to live as Jews should inspire us always.

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