United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Soviet Jewry Collection

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Soviet Jewry Collection represents one collection housed within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM). These papers reflect the effort, beginning in the 1960s through the late 1980s, of thousands of American Jews of all denominations and political orientations to stop the persecution and discrimination of Jews in the Soviet Union. The American Soviet Jewry Movement (ASJM) is considered to be the most influential Movement of the American Jewish community in the 20th century. The beginnings of the organized American Soviet Jewry Movement became a model for efforts to aid Soviet Jews in other countries, among them Great Britain, Canada, and France. The movement can be traced to the early 1960s, when the first organizations were created to address the specific problem of the persecution and isolation of Soviet Jews by the government of the Soviet Union.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) was founded in 1913 by Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schechter in order to bring together congregations to develop and perpetuate Conservative Judaism. In 1985 USCJ consisted of over 850 congregations. USCJ works in the fields of Jewish education, youth activities, congregational standards and action and Israel affairs. The USCJ sponsors United Synagogue Youth (USY), a youth group with chapters all over the United States and Canada.