Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry

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Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry (GNYCSJ)

The Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry was started in 1971 in New York as a non-governmental, grassroots group. It acted as an umbrella for regional organizations in the Soviet Jewry movement and worked to secure human rights for Jews in the Soviet Union.

In the 1980s, the organization was renamed the Coalition To Free Soviet Jews.

What it did:
- GNYCSJ gathered information about conditions for Jews in the USSR, mainly from American visitors who met refuseniks there.
- It shared this information with federal, state, and local officials to influence U.S.-Soviet relations during the later years of the Cold War.
- The group organized public events to raise awareness, including annual Solidarity Sunday rallies in New York City.
- It co-sponsored the 1987 Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews in Washington, DC, which drew about 250,000 participants.

Leadership:
- The first director was Malcolm Hoenlein.
- In the 1970s, Robert Abrams served as chair, and in the 1980s Seymour P. Lachman, who was also on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) board, led the group.
- Zeesy Schnur served as executive director.

Overall, GNYCSJ helped bring attention to the plight of Soviet Jews and influenced public opinion and policy during a pivotal period of the Cold War.