Refusenik speaks at Hillel

Having experienced the anti-semitic persecution known to many only through history books or stories from friends or relatives, Yosef Begun, one of the first refuseniks, explained the difficulty Soviet Jews had gaining religious freedom by describing his personal pursuit for an ethnic identity. "In 1987, I was in prison, but I was not a criminal, but according to the Soviet government, I made anti-Soviet propaganda," Begun said. "[The Soviet Union] was a big prison for all Jews . . . For me to be Jew, it was a kind of personal disease." His pursuit began when he asked himself questions such as "What does it mean to be a Jew?" and "Why was my family massacred during the Holocaust?" and then attempted to answer them by taking secret Hebrew lessons from a mentor. Through the underground education, he gained enough knowledge to start teaching others. Others, fearing the consequences of illegal activity, did not support him. "When I began to teach others Hebrew," Begun said, "they threatened me and demanded I stop all activity." However, he did not stop, and, conseqently, he was imprisoned in a Siberian labor camp for ten years. "It was my own plight and my own fate," he stated. In the middle of his speech, Begun displayed a simple metal bracelet given to him by a student. The student had worn it as a reminder of the persecution Jews throughout the world were facing. When the student met Begun, he gave it to Begun as a sign that Begun is now free. "I was very moved," Begun said. Begun concluded his talk by stressing the relative ease with which Jews in the new Commonwealth of Independent States can seek their heritage. "It's an important time to give Soviet Jews more reason to be interested in being Jewish," he said. "There is not so much fear anymore." The audience of 30 at last night's one-hour talk in the Hillel Auditorium was moved. "It almost gives a sense of closure for the struggle of the Soviet Jewry," College freshman Stu Loeser said. "It's nice to see them farther on their way than many said they would ever be." "It really made me think about the plight of the Soviet Jewry," said College freshman Michael Rosenfield, "and how much they've had to struggle to gain an identity."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.