Generations of Courage

Generations of Courage: The Soviet Jewry Movement & The Campus Frontline

Join us for a critical conversation that bridges the history of the Soviet Jewry movement with the urgent reality of modern campus activism. Author Izabella Tabarovsky (How to be a Refusenik) joins former Refusenik and NCSEJ leader Alexander “Sasha” Smukler and student activist Eyal Yakoby to explore the enduring power of Jewish resilience. Discussion moderator TBA

Together, they will trace the lineage of anti-Zionist rhetoric from the Soviet era to today’s universities, offering a “field manual” for identity preservation. From the secret Hebrew classes of Moscow to the student unions of UPenn, discover how finding your “comrades in arms” remains the ultimate act of resistance. This is not just a history lesson; it is a strategy session for the next generation.

Presentation made possible with support by: The Associated, The Baltimore Jewish Council, JCC of Greater Baltimore, The Children of Shoshana Cardin, and Chizuk Amuno Congregation

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Izabella Tabarovsky is a scholar of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism, a sought-after speaker and lecturer, and the author of the forthcoming book Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide (Wicked Son). She is a fellow with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC; a senior fellow with the Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities in Palo Alto; and a fellow with the Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa, the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.

A contributing writer at Tablet Magazine, she has also published in Newsweek, Sapir, Quillette, The National Interest, Fathom, The Forward, and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Her essays have appeared in several edited volumes, including October 7: The Wars over Words and Deeds (Academic Studies Press); The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream (Routledge); Mapping the New Left Antisemitism: The Fathom Essays (Routledge); Sionismo y antisionismo: Un debate necesario (RiL editores); and Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People (Wicked Son). Her work has been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Polish, Russian, Czech, and other languages.

Born and raised in the Soviet Union, Izabella moved to the United States in 1989 at the age of 19. She holds an MA in History from Harvard University. She speaks Russian, English, and Hebrew, and has studied Spanish, French, and German. She lives in Jerusalem, Israel.

Alexander “Sasha” Smukler is a former refusenik who advocated for the rights of Jews in the former Soviet Union. He left the Soviet Union in 1991 and moved to the United States, where, as a successful businessman he became a prominent member of the American Jewish community and continued his activism on behalf of Jews from the former Soviet Union. Smukler was elected as the first Russian/American president of National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (formerly the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, NCSJ) in 2008. He was a protege and friend of Baltimore’s own Shoshana Cardin who was the first woman president of NCSJ.

Eyal Yakoby is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Political Science and Modern Middle East Studies and an incoming student at MIT. Eyal was a student at UPenn last year during the campus protests that ended in violence and intimidation of Jewish students. He spoke at a House Congressional leadership press conference in 2023 and testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 2024 as a witness to the violence and harassment of Jewish students. Eyal appears in October H8te, a new documentary on rising antisemitism on college campuses, social media, and the streets of America. He has appeared on TV networks, including CNN, ABC, and Fox, and has contributed to publications such as The Washington Post and The New York Post.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide
What does it mean to refuse antizionist erasure — to remain Jewish, Zionist, visible, and morally grounded — when the cost of doing so keeps rising? Jewish students on campuses today face mounting pressure to stay silent, conform, or disavow central parts of who they are: their Zionism, their bond with Israel, and their place in the Jewish people’s larger story.

In her bestselling book Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide, Izabella Tabarovsky draws a powerful parallel between this moment and the struggle of young Soviet Jews half a century ago. Known as refuseniks, they stood up to an oppressive regime intent on erasing Jewish identity—and by refusing to comply, they changed history.

Drawing on the lessons of the refusenik movement, Be a Refusenik offers a bold, practical, and inspiring guide for a new generation of Jews confronting antizionist intimidation, ideological litmus tests, and antisemitism on today’s campuses. Blending history, moral clarity, and real-world strategy, the book speaks directly to students—and to the communities that support them.

“Izabella Tabarovsky is one of our generation’s most courageous Jewish voices. In this essential book, she draws on her own experience to impart the wisdom of Soviet Jews so desperately needed by young American Jews. Read this with gratitude.” — Yossi Klein Halevi, senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, author, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

“A book that is deeply needed right now.” — Rawan Osman, author and activist

“Tactically grounded… quietly ruthless… deeply respectful of student agency. A framework for refusing the story your campus wants Jews to play inside.”—Yos Tarshish, Director, Queen’s Hillel, Kingston, Ontario.

“A manual for exactly the kind of spine the world needs today.” — Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, scholar and analyst

“An important and insightful new book… a fascinating and educative call to defiance and resistance against Jewish erasure.” — Melanie Phillips, journalist and author, The Builder’s Stone.

“Izabella Tabarovsky’s work is essential to understanding the hypocrisy and malignancy of today’s surging ideologies.”—Simon Sebag Montefiore, author, historian.

“This thought-provoking, well-written, textured, passionate book tells two seemingly disconnected stories, on different continents, in different political systems, separated by half a century. But, lo and behold, the ever-insightful Izabella Tabarovsky boldly and wisely connects the dots. While exposing disturbing parallels between Soviet antisemitism and the antisemitism of today’s campus commissar, she uses the Refusenik movement’s extraordinary courage, backbone, and success to inspire today’s Jewish students. That breakthrough makes the book a must-read for students and non-students, Jews and non-Jews alike.” — Professor Gil Troy, author, To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream