The Bold Operation That Changed Life for Soviet Jews

If you happen to visit the Meir Institute in Jerusalem and are interested in a Talmud class, you might meet Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, one of the institute's rabbis. Listening to his fascinating lesson, you might detect a trace of a Russian accent, but you could never imagine that this man was among the few who changed the world, at least for Soviet Jews. You would never know that up until the age of twenty, he had no inkling about his Jewish identity or what Judaism even meant.

Mendelevich was born in Riga in 1947 under Communist rule. Judaism or Jewish studies were utterly forbidden, seen as detrimental to Soviet productivity. The magnificent Jewish legacy of Riga was erased by the communists. The tragic end of the Jews in Lithuania, Ukraine, and Latvia was likewise erased. The erection of memorials at mass murder sites such as Babi Yar was prohibited. Young Jews clandestinely visited these sites where their families and communities had been obliterated.

In 1962, young Jews from Riga insisted on placing a memorial plaque at the Rumbula Forest massacre site, where about 25,000 Riga Jews were murdered within a week (!) under the heinous command of Nazi Friedrich Jeckeln. (Jeckeln was publicly hanged at the end of World War II, and his Latvian partner, Herberst Cukurs, was subsequently killed in South America by Israeli Mossad agents). They erected a simple wooden plaque with the inscription "Here twenty-five thousand Jews were murdered by the Nazis." The authorities immediately removed it, claiming there was no difference between Jews and other Soviet citizens. After much struggle, the wording "Here Soviet citizens were murdered by fascists" was approved...

Riga's youth stubbornly held an annual memorial ceremony at the massacre site. In 1967, Yosef Mendelevich participated and felt he must return to his roots and be part of the Jewish people, with all that entailed. In his book, he writes: "At that moment, I heard the voice of Hashem calling me to start on my path. It was time for me to take upon myself the observance of all the commandments that the people of Israel were instructed to follow. Mendel [Gordin] showed me the way through personal example and conduct. I was still far from being truly Jewish, but I decided to choose the righteous path within myself, and this decision came to me with full awareness. Thus, through a sudden sense of my connection to the Jewish people, I came to understand my connection to Hashem."

Mendelevich began Jewish activities in Riga, teaching young people the Hebrew language and basic knowledge about Judaism, knowledge hidden from them by the Soviet education system. Along with his friends, he submitted applications to immigrate to Israel, which were typically refused. Eventually, the refusals became intolerable, and they decided to take a bold and surprising initiative: to hijack a Russian plane.

In the Russia of those days, even the smallest act considered subversive could send a person to forced labor in Siberia for years. Hijacking a Soviet plane was tantamount to suicide!

But these Jewish activists had decided their life in exile was devoid of meaning. Their mission would either succeed or fail, but it would make noise around the world. The plan was called "Operation Wedding," as it was disguised as a trip to a friend's wedding. Among the group's members was also a pilot, Mark Dymshitz. The group sought assistance for their bold idea from Israel, sending an encrypted message through an Israeli tourist visiting the synagogue in Leningrad. However, Prime Minister Golda Meir feared the repercussions of such an event and expressed her opposition. The tourist conveyed her message: "The chief professor does not recommend using the medicine." Mark Dymshitz did not reveal this to the group, so they wouldn't lose heart, and the operation commenced.

On June 15, 1970, twelve group members arrived at the Smolnaya Airport near Leningrad and purchased tickets for a flight to Priozersk, intending to take control of the pilot and fly the plane to Sweden. As expected, KGB agents, who were monitoring them, arrested them as they boarded the plane, and the entire group was detained and faced a series of show trials. The operation organizer said, "I knew we would be caught. My concern was that we would be arrested before the event, and they would judge us without the world knowing." And indeed, he was right. The trials became show trials covered worldwide, bringing the plight of Russian Jewish emigration refusal to global awareness.

In the trial, known as the "First Leningrad Trial," members of the group were sentenced to severe penalties. The two organizers were sentenced to death, and other participants were sentenced to hard labor. Yosef Mendelevich was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in Siberia.

In a radio response speech, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said: "With anger and pain, the government of Israel heard the news of the sentencing of two Leningrad detainees to death and others to lengthy prison terms. The current Soviet regime continues the tradition of killing innocent Jewish victims and blood libels, which was inherited from Tsarist Russia and continues to guide the current leadership. The cry of the Jewish people and responses worldwide, which are growing stronger, will break through the Iron Curtain and will not allow the cruel regime to continue their vengeance on defenseless and innocent victims."

Yosef Mendelevich was imprisoned. Due to his insistence on observing mitzvot, he was transferred to three years under "strict conditions," including about two months of a hunger strike, demanding kosher food. Other prisoners also suffered greatly and were known in the international media as "Prisoners of Zion."

However, the global echo made its mark. The Russian authorities could not explain to the world why they were preventing Jews from immigrating to Israel, and the doors of the Iron Curtain partly opened. 300,000 people received exit permits from Russia (compared to 3,000 in the previous decade), more than half of whom immigrated to Israel. Some sentences for the "Operation Wedding" group were reduced, and ultimately almost all the group members succeeded in making Aliyah to Israel.

Yosef Mendelevich continued his activities even in Israel. He managed to pursue education in various fields, received rabbinical ordination, an honorary doctorate, and mainly focused on spreading Judaism and teaching Torah and Talmud to many.