Ephraim (Alexander) Kholmyansky (born 1950, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) is an Israeli

refusenik Refusenik (russian: отказник, otkaznik, ; alternatively spelt refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authori ...

, activist in the Jewish revival movement in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and teacher of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Biography

Kholmyansky became interested in Jewish revival and, above all, in learning Hebrew. Gradually, he became a prominent Hebrew teacher in the late 1970s and 1980s in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, heading a clandestine network of Hebrew teachers in different cities across the USSR. At the peak of its activities, the network was active in 20 cities of USSR, with contacts in a further 30 cities. The

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

began close surveillance of Kholmyansky and arrested him in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

, capital of the

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...

on 29 August 1984. While Kholmyansky was in preliminary detention, the KGB conducted a house search of his Moscow apartment, where they claimed to have recovered a shotgun, but his supporters among Soviet Jews and campaigners claimed that he was framed and that the charges were false. During the subsequent criminal investigation, however, the accusation against him of illegal possession of a weapon was dropped, leaving only the charge of illegal possession of ammunition. The defendant proclaimed an unlimited hunger strike, which he also continued after he was sentenced. When Kholmyansky was hospitalized in the prison hospital, his weight was 42.5 kg (he is 177 cm tall). There, he was force-fed. Some time after completing his term of imprisonment, Kholmyansky was granted an exit visa to Israel, where he arrived with his family. US Secretary of State

George P. Shultz George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...

, three US Senators (including

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

), ten US Congressmen,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, Bob Hawke and other public figures publicly supported the approval of Kholmyansky's exit visa. Kholmyansky lives with his wife and 5 children in Machanaim in

Ma'ale Adumim Ma'ale Adumim ( he, מַעֲלֵה אֲדֻמִּים; ar, معالي أدوميم) is an urban Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the West Bank, seven kilometers () east of Jerusalem. Ma'ale Adumim achieved city status in 1991. ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

References

"Refusenik"
documentary movie by Laura Bialis. Clip

* "The Sound of Silence", memoir of Ephraim Kholmyansky (russian: Эфраим Холмянский. Звучание тишины. — Иерусалим, 2007. При поддержке КЕРООР he, ק"ק מוסקבה) * Reuter 15.10.84 «Hebrew teacher force-fed in Soviet jail» * The New York Times, 14 February 1985 «Crime and punishment. The ordeal of a quiet Soviet Jew» by Anthony Lewis. * The New York Times, 5 February 1985 «Soviet said to sentence popular Hebrew teacher to labor camp» by Seth Mydans. * Washington Jewish Weekly 14.02.1985 «Kholmyansky Sentenced, Natan Sharansky, Sharansky Ill» * Jerusalem Post 07.12.1984 «English bishop supports imprisoned Soviet Jew» * Enn Tarto. et, Riigikogu liikme arupärimine {{DEFAULTSORT:Kholmyansky, Ephraim 1950 births Baalei teshuva Israeli Jews Israeli Orthodox Jews Jewish activists Living people Refuseniks Russian Jews Russian Orthodox Jews Soviet dissidents