Hadassah Launches Woman-to-woman Campaign with Soviet Jews

In order to give moral support to a group of 42 Soviet Jewish women activists, Hadassah has launched a nationwide, multi-faceted campaign to reinforce the lines of communication between them and American Jewish women. It is called “Project Isha-L-Isha” (woman to woman).

“Because of the official Soviet policy which discourages the presentation of Jewish culture and religion, and because of the orchestrated harassment and terror tactics applied to Jews who apply for exit visas, many Soviet Jews are demoralized,” Beatrice Feldman, national Zionist affairs chairman of Hadassah, explained.

“Furthermore, with the jamming of the airwaves from the west, the irregularities of the communications systems, not to mention the overt censorship and restrictions against meeting foreign visitors, Soviet Jews often feel cut off and forgotten by their families and friends abroad.”

“Through letters, birthday and anniversary greetings,” Mrs. Feldman said, “we hope to reassure these brave women that their outspoken and courageous efforts to uphold human rights for Jews in the Soviet Union are known and supported in the world beyond the Iron Curtain.” The letters will not be political. They will describe Jewish culture, the participants’ trips to Israel, and the work they do for Hadassah on behalf of its medical and educational services in Israel.

One of the notable women to whom Project Isha-L-Isha will direct attention is Ida Nudel, who has recently been exiled to Siberia for four years. “If Ida Nudel is to survive the rigors of this stark existence, so graphically described by Alexander Solzenitsyn in ‘Gulag Archipelago,’ we must make every attempt to keep her psychologically afloat,” Mrs. Feldman said.