By Micah Halpern
I've Been Thinking:
A great Jewish hero has died. His name is Mark Dymshitz and he was 88 years old.
Dymshitz was a prisoner of Zion, a "refusenik". He was one of the leaders of the early years of the struggle by Russian Jews to escape persecution under Soviet rule.
Dymshitz drew attention to Soviet Jewry by attempting to hijack a plane in what was then Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, on June 15, 1970. The plan was called Operation Wedding. 16 refuseniks took part in the plan - 14 Jews and 2 non Jews.
Dymshitz was a pilot and along with fellow dissident Edward Kuznetsov, planned to hijack the plane and fly it to Israel. The group bought up all the seats on the 12 seater Antonov An -2 plane.
The plan failed and Mark Dymshitz was sentenced to death. His punishment was commuted because of world outcry and finally, in 1979, he was freed in a swap with the USSR.
The attempted hijacking and the audacity and daring of the plan drew huge attention to the plight of Soviet Jews.
Dymshitz and the 13 others who collaborated with him on Operation Wedding, even though it failed miserably as a plan, were truly heroes.
Micah@MicahHalpern.com
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