A Refusenik in a country at war

‘A vital one! A vital one! A vital one!” Natan Sharanski calls his wife’s name in rapid, anxious succession, the last time in a loud bellow. A few minutes into our Zoom interview from his home in Jerusalem, he worries that his grandchildren haven’t had breakfast. “Because of the war, everyone is crazy,” he said. “My son-in-law is at war, so all the grandchildren are here” – eight in total, ages 1 to 13, the children of his daughters, Hannah and Rachel. “It’s a good time to nourish yourself with family love.”

An Israeli politician and human rights activist, Mr. Sharansky was once the most famous man refusenik— a name for Soviet Jews who were refused permission to emigrate to Israel. In February 1986, he became “the first political prisoner released by Mikhail Gorbachev.” He served as a minister in all Israeli governments from 1996 to 2005, including as Ariel SharonDeputy Prime Minister from 2001 to 2003.