Generations of Courage:
From Refuseniks to Today’s Campus Struggle
RAFFLE for great door prizes! Apple Earbuds, JBL mini speaker, etc!
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GREAT TREATS! (Dietary laws observed.)
Limited number of free books for attendees*!
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What does it mean to refuse antizionist erasure — to remain Jewish, Zionist, visible, and connected to our story — when the pressure to conform keeps rising?
Join us for an inspiring conversation about Jewish courage, defiance, and resilience.
Author Izabella Tabarovsky brings the insights of her acclaimed book Be a Refusenik to Baltimore. Drawing on the moral clarity of the refusenik movement, the book offers a powerful, practical framework for navigating today’s climate of anti-Jewish ideological coercion.
Joined by former refusenik Aleksander Smukler and one of this generation’s leading Jewish voices, Eyal Yakoby, the conversation explores what it takes to stand firm, refuse to bend under pressure, and affirm the full spectrum of Jewish identity in our time. Rabbi Moshe Schwartz will moderate the program.
- Sunday, April 26, 2026
- 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.,
- The Associated Headquarters on the Goldsmith Campus, 5700 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore
Click here to register for the program.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Izabella Tabarovsky is a scholar of Soviet antizionism and contemporary antisemitism, a sought-after speaker and lecturer, and the author of the forthcoming book Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide (Wicked Son). She is a fellow with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC; a senior fellow with the Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities in Palo Alto; and a fellow with the Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa, the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
A contributing writer at Tablet Magazine, she has also published in Newsweek, Sapir, Quillette, The National Interest, Fathom, The Forward, and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Her essays have appeared in several edited volumes, including October 7: The Wars over Words and Deeds (Academic Studies Press); The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century: From the Academic Boycott Campaign into the Mainstream (Routledge); Mapping the New Left Antisemitism: The Fathom Essays (Routledge); Sionismo y antisionismo: Un debate necesario (RiL editores); and Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People (Wicked Son). Her work has been translated into Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Polish, Russian, Czech, and other languages.
Born and raised in the Soviet Union, Izabella moved to the United States in 1989 at the age of 19. She holds an MA in History from Harvard University. She speaks Russian, English, and Hebrew, and has studied Spanish, French, and German. She lives in Jerusalem, Israel.
Alexander “Sasha” Smukler is a former refusenik who advocated for the rights of Jews in the former Soviet Union. He left the Soviet Union in 1991 and moved to the United States, where, as a successful businessman he became a prominent member of the American Jewish community and continued his activism on behalf of Jews from the former Soviet Union. Smukler was elected as the first Russian/American president of National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry (formerly the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, NCSJ) in 2008. He was a protege and friend of Baltimore’s own Shoshana Cardin who was the first chairwoman of the board of the NCSJ (now NCSEJ), and chairwoman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
Eyal Yakoby is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Political Science and Modern Middle East Studies and an incoming student at MIT. Eyal was a student at UPenn last year during the campus protests that ended in violence and intimidation of Jewish students. He spoke at a House Congressional leadership press conference in 2023 and testified before the House Judiciary Committee in 2024 as a witness to the violence and harassment of Jewish students. Eyal appears in October H8te, a new documentary on rising antisemitism on college campuses, social media, and the streets of America. He has appeared on TV networks, including CNN, ABC, and Fox, and has contributed to publications such as The Washington Post and The New York Post.
Rabbi Moshe Schwartz (moderator) has served as head of school of Krieger Schechter Day School since 2015.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide
What does it mean to refuse antizionist erasure — to remain Jewish, Zionist, visible, and morally grounded — when the cost of doing so keeps rising? Jewish students on campuses today face mounting pressure to stay silent, conform, or disavow central parts of who they are: their Zionism, their bond with Israel, and their place in the Jewish people’s larger story.
In her bestselling book Be a Refusenik: A Jewish Student’s Survival Guide, Izabella Tabarovsky draws a powerful parallel between this moment and the struggle of young Soviet Jews half a century ago. Known as refuseniks, they stood up to an oppressive regime intent on erasing Jewish identity—and by refusing to comply, they changed history.
Drawing on the lessons of the refusenik movement, Be a Refusenik offers a bold, practical, and inspiring guide for a new generation of Jews confronting antizionist intimidation, ideological litmus tests, and antisemitism on today’s campuses. Blending history, moral clarity, and real-world strategy, the book speaks directly to students—and to the communities that support them.
*Books sponsor: Jewish Alumni Strong
