Natan Sharansky: Act III, Scene I
Soviet Jewry’s leading man has had a career of many acts: dissident, politician and now, head of Israel’s Jewish Agency. Through them all, he has held on to his belief in peoplehood, an idea he thinks can cure what ails the Jewish world.
It is a cold night in Washington, DC, and Natan Sharansky is doing what he has done for years, speaking to a group of American Jews, this time participants in a Reform movement conference. He is sick—his eyes are bloodshot and he looks paler than usual—but the crowd listens attentively as he touches upon subjects ranging from Russian Jewry to Jewish unity, arms gesticulating wildly. He rambles—he rarely uses notes—and although his English is fluent, it can be difficult to follow because of his thick Russian accent. No matter that he seems tired,...