Josh Shapiro Answer

08/05/2024

B. Josh took up the cause of Soviet Jewry when he was 6 years old, through his synagogue. He wrote letters to Avi Goldstein, a Russian boy his age whose parents were refuseniks, persecuted by Soviet authorities and refused the right to emigrate to Israel. Shapiro then began reaching out to others to write Avi, ultimately initiating a letter writing campaign called “Children for Avi,” generating letters to Avi from children across the United States, Canada, and England. Avi and his family were eventually allowed to leave Russia, and Avi attended Josh’s bar mitzvah in 1986.

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