NCSJ - 08.26.2009

NCSJ Mourns the Passing of Ted Kennedy

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- NCSJ mourns the loss of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a close friend of and partner in the Soviet Jewry Movement. 

Sen. Kennedy participated in numerous missions to Moscow, meeting with refuseniks, bringing their concerns directly to Soviet leadership, and making their plight known internationally. He was a forceful advocate, and personally engaged in hundreds of refusenik and Prisoner of Zion cases, including that of Natan Sharansky. 

NCSJ Chairman Richard Stone said, “Sen. Kennedy’s support for the rights and needs of Jews in the former Soviet Union was an invaluable asset to our movement since its inception.”

NCSJ President and former refusenik Alexander Smukler met with Sen. Kennedy on several occasions during Kennedy’s visits with refuseniks in Moscow. “He was knowledgeable, informed and involved, and he always, always paid attention to our issues,” Smukler remembered. “He came to our apartments to sit with us, without pretense. He advocated for our freedom.”

Sen. Kennedy “was one of the earliest, strongest champions on behalf of Soviet Jewry, and he never forgot we were talking about individuals and families,” said NCSJ Executive Director Mark Levin. “I’ll always consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to work with Sen. Kennedy on so many issues over his long and distinguished career.”

NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, founded in 1971, represents the organized American Jewish community in monitoring and advocating on behalf of the estimated 1.5 million Jews living in the 15 successor states of the former Soviet Union.

Links
JTA	Kennedy seen as giant on domestic issues, Soviet Jewry
JTA	Jewish organizations mourn passing of Sen. Kennedy
Voice of America	VOA Interviews NCSJ President Alexander Smukler (in Russian)
Forward	A Lion Who Roared for the Least Fortunate
NY Jewish Week	Ted Kennedy’s Legacy
NY Jewish Week	A ‘Rebuilder Of Broken Walls’
J'lem Post	Sen. Edward Kennedy - 'A great friend of Israel'
CNN	'Littlest refusenik' on Kennedy: 'He saved my life'
Tablet Mag.	Ted Kennedy, Mispacha