Mosaic: Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles - January/February 2008

Changing Times: Mark Levin’s Quarter Century Journey

(For the full print version of the article, click here)

“It’s not often that you can say you’ve been a part of something that really helped to change a significant part of the world, let alone help our own people in the state of Israel at the same time,” says a proud, yet humble Mark Levin, executive director of the National Council of Soviet Jewry (NCSJ). He’s referring to the late 80s and early 90s when hundreds of thousands of Jews were finally able to leave the Soviet Union. Working for NCSJ for over 25 years, Mark has seen some of the best and worst of times for Jews in Russia, the Ukraine, and the Baltic states. And though many organizations helped lobby for change at the time, and still continue to do so, without NCSJ’s savvy political advocacy talents, it’s doubtful how far-reaching the change would have been. Created in 1971, NCSJ, a beneficiary of the Federation, is often referred to as “the voice” of American Jewry on issues confronting the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Says Mark, “NCSJ is an irreplaceable asset for the community because we’re the conduit between all the governments of the region and the U.S. government. Because we have support from over 300 Federations and close to 50 national agencies like AIPAC and the ADL, we are broadly based.”

Ed Robin, chairman of NCSJ and founding chair of the Federation’s Israel & Overseas Committee, remembers the late 80s and early 90s, too. At that time, Ed was instrumental in raising resettlement funds for Soviet Jews and bringing over 250,000 people from across the country to the Mall in Washington, D.C. to welcome Mikhail Gorbachev to America. “I think it’s fair to say that apart from the establishment of the state of Israel, the freeing of the Jews of the Soviet Union is the greatest Jewish accomplishment of the twentieth century,” says Ed. “NCSJ was on the fulcrum of that moment.”

For an idea of just how different the geography and composition of the Jewish world was before and after Gorbachev, consider these numbers: In 1984, fewer than 900 Jews were permitted to leave the USSR.A mere five years later, with Gorbachev in power, nearly 19,000 made it either to the U.S. or Israel. By 1991, more than 145,000 were on their way to Israel alone. As Mark says, this change, which helped transform the Jewish State, was “nothing short of miraculous.” But he’s also aware that one should never rest on one’s laurels. Even though the situation for the Jews in that region of the world has improved, Mark and his team continue to work hard for the survival of the Jewish people.“ One of our challenges today is to build on our successes and ensure that they’re long-term. After all, we’re dealing with the third largest population in the world when you combine the 15 countries we represent.” 

One of the biggest problems facing the region today is, sadly, one of the Jewish people’s oldest problems: anti-Semitism. In the Ukraine, for example, one of the country’s largest private universities, MAUP, is publishing anti-Semitic literature and issuing statements supporting the destruction of the State of Israel. Additionally, this past January, MAUP president Georgy Schokin published a piece in one of the schools newspapers blaming Ukraine’s problems on the Chabad Lubavitch movement. Synagogues and Holocaust memorials are being vandalized, and Jews are often the targets of violent attacks. In the town of Dnepropetrovsk, for example, four yeshiva students were attacked by 30 skinheads. Though the students survived, these kinds of incidents are occurring more and more frequently throughout the Ukraine, and in Russia, as well. 

Mark says, “Yes, the governments of these countries are speaking out, but we need to get them to take additional steps to make systemic changes that will have a generational change. I go back to 1985, when less than 1,000 people got out of Russia. Everyone threw up their hands and said, ‘What can we do? ’Well, changes did take place, and we were part of that change. Today, we can help these countries make fundamental changes.” 

So what kind of changes are Mark and NCSJ working toward? “Better laws that deal with hate crimes,” he says. “Better law enforcement, better use of mass media and greater infiltration of the educational system in teaching concepts like pluralism and tolerance.” 

His last point is especially important, considering the rise of neo-Nazis and skinheads in different sectors of Russian society. For a country that suffered as much as it did at the hands of Hitler, this phenomenon is of special concern because the government isn’t doing enough to discourage the activity. Mark explains that in April, the neo-Nazis were allowed to march in the middle of Moscow to celebrate Hitler’s birthday. Despite that under Russian law, both public incitement of ethnic hatred and the use of Nazi symbols are illegal, there were no arrests. “What kind of message does that send to the Jews of Russia?” Mark asks. 

NCSJ has been working through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has held a series of meetings and conferences on anti-Semitism that all the countries of Europe, the U.S., and Canada have attended. And while Russia and the Ukraine have also attended such conferences, clearly more needs to be done. Mark also says more needs to be done to help stem the transfer of technology from Russia to Iran, another issue NCSJ is working on. 

But the good news is that in most parts of the FSU, Jews are now able to live their lives peacefully, thanks in no small part to the work of NCSJ. For Mark, it’s been a very exciting quarter-century. “To see the countries we work with now developing diplomatic relations with Israel when so many others are hostile is very rewarding,” he says. 

Commenting on Mark’s long, industrious career at the head of NCSJ, Ed Robin says, “Mark is diligent, committed, personable and never fails to get the job done. That’s why he’s really the Jewish address, and in some cases the U.S. address, for the ministries of these countries. It’s apparent when you travel with him, when you see the relationships he has with officials overseas. We’re very fortunate to have him.” 

Clearly, so are millions of Jews living in the FSU.