Natan Sharansky Speaks At Jerusalem Gathering For Ethiopian Immigrants In 1987 Editorial Image

Israeli human rights advocate Natan Sharansky was awarded his nation`s prestigious 2020 Genesis Prize for a lifetime of work promoting political and religious freedoms on December 10, 2019. This photo was taken on November 10, 1987, at a gathering in Jerusalem for Ethiopian Jews who were arriving as new immigrants. An Israeli human rights advocate Natan Sharansky was awarded his nation`s prestigious 2020 Genesis Prize for a lifetime of work promoting political and religious freedoms on December 10, 2019. Sharansky was in Soviet prisons and gulags for 9 years during the 1960s and 70s. He clung tenaciously to his Jewish faith and culture and was hailed as a prisoner of Zion. Sharansky and his supporters helped mobilize a successful effort to bring many hundreds of thousands of Russian and Soviet Jews to Israel. As an Israeli Sharansky became a Member of Knesset and a government cabinet minister. He then became head of the Jewish Agency. Along the way, he was given many honors, such as the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to the security and state, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. to his Jewish faith and culture and was hailed as a Prisoner of Zion. As an Israeli Sharansky became a Member of Knesset and a government cabinet minister. He then became head of the Jewish Agency. Along the way, he was given many honors, such as the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to the security and state, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.