For the better part of the past few decades, America’s Russian-speaking Jewish community has been underrepresented in conversations happening in Jewish movements and at decision points. 

In fact, for over 100 years, Jews in the Russian Empire, later the Soviet Union, and then later again, Jews from the former Soviet Union living in the US, have been on the receiving end of charity and the beneficiaries of advocacy efforts. 

In 1906, the American Jewish Committee was established in part to respond to pogroms taking place across Eastern Europe. In the 1920s, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee supplied Jews in the Soviet Union with emergency food and medical supplies. In the 1970s, Jewish organizations led the Free Soviet Jewry movement, advocating for the Soviet Union to open its borders and allow Jews to leave the country.

Russian-speaking Jews have become ingrained in the US

During the past 40 years, Jews from the former Soviet Union who immigrated to America have established their own communities, day schools, synagogues and adult-education organizations that focus on reintroducing Jewish thought and practices to a demographic group that has not experienced either for several generations. And now is the time for this community to take a seat and have an equal voice at the big communal table.

By some estimates, Russian-speaking Jews (RSJs) make up about 10% of the American Russian-speaking Jewish population. Members of the RSJ community are counted among Jewish organizations’ lay leaders, large donors and founders of major initiatives. RSJs are some of the most vocal supporters of Israel and efforts to fight against antisemitism. Like many Jewish communities, including the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Sephardi, Mizrahi and Israeli-American, RSJs have a unique history, perspective and voice that should be represented in communal discussions.

SOVIET OLIM celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1990 great wave of aliyah, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, 2015. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
SOVIET OLIM celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1990 great wave of aliyah, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, 2015. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
An initiative that is taking on this work is the American Russian-Speaking Jews Alliance (ARSJA), which aims to be the conduit that connects RSJs to the broader Jewish community. The mission of the ARSJA is “to draw on the shared heritage and experiences of the American Russian-speaking Jewish community to bring community members closer to the rich resources and traditions of Judaism. Our aim is to connect RSJs to the many wonderful educational, social and advocacy organizations in our communities, and to amplify our community’s voices on important topics such as education, antisemitism, Israel, leadership and being responsible for one another.”

ARSJA is a national partner for Jewish American Heritage Month, for which it collaborated with the Jewish Federations of North America to highlight the RSJ community’s efforts to help in the Ukrainian refugee crisis. ARSJA is a partner in the #StandUpToJewishHate campaign, known for its blue square initiative and celebrity endorsements. In May, ARSJA represented the RSJ community at the New York Symposium Against Antisemitism, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. The symposium was represented by over 55 national organizations and included New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, and Natan Sharansky as keynote presenters.

One of the tools ARSJA uses to fulfill its mission is building partnerships with organizations that are included in what ARSJA calls Our Circle. Currently, there are 15 partners, including international organizations such as Hadassah and StandWithUs, as well as local Chabad shuls, in the heart of RSJ communities.

Creating a space for the RSJ community at the communal table will lead to a greater perspective, resources and diversity that should be welcomed by everyone already with seats at the table.

The writer has been featured in the NY Daily News, The Jerusalem Post, Forward, eJewish Philanthropy, Jewish Week and Times of Israel.