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I Am Here to Talk About the Young Ernie That Many of You Most

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I Am Here to Talk About the Young Ernie That Many of You Most Ernie’s Shloshim Haim Solomon July 19, 2008 Ernie Shalowitz, a long-time Soviet Jewry activist in the Washington, DC area, died in June, 2008. He thus was not able to contribute to the compilation of the history of the Soviet Jewry Movement in Washington. So that Ernie’s remarkable contribution not be forgotten, the following, based on Haim Solomon’s Shloshim talk about Ernie at Ohev Sholom Synagogue, are being submitted to the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. I am here to talk about the young Ernie that many of you probably did not know. In the mid-60’s when I first met Ernie, he was very involved in numerous Jewish causes: he was President of the Brandeis chapter of the ZOA [Zionist Organization of America], a member and Vice-President of the Jewish Community Council (JCC). I will mainly address the very important role he played in the struggle of the “refuseniks” and in the founding and activities of the Washington Committee for Soviet Jewry (WCSJ). With the movie by the same name currently playing downtown, most of you probably know that this was the name given to Russian Jews who were refused an exit visa to emigrate to Israel. Ernie’s passion for politics and Jewish causes came from his parents. His most precious possession was a 1943 issue of The Washington Post with his mother’s picture in front of the White House holding a big sign asking the President to do something about the plight of European Jews... Just a little historical background. After Israel’s fabulous victory over the Arab armies in the 1967 Six-Day War, Jews in the Soviet Union courageously dared to assert their Jewishness. Since they could not live as Jews in the Soviet Union they applied for exit visas to go to Israel. For that they were fired from their jobs, persecuted and punished. In many cases they were tried, found guilty and sent to prison (the Gulag) or found insane and sent to mental institutions. In response to these atrocities, in various cities around the country, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Washington, small groups of people – usually from Jewish organizations started to organize Committees for Soviet Jewry to peacefully but loudly protest the inhumane treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. Solomon’s Memories of Shalowitz Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington Page 1 Voices of the Vigil Unfortunately, the Washington Jewish leadership as represented by the JCC opposed any form of demonstration. Its position was not to make any waves concerning Soviet Jews as the problem could best be handled politically and diplomatically. Here was Ernie, with one foot in the WCSJ and one foot in the JCC, trying to get the Council to take an active position but when the issue was put to a vote he usually lost by a few votes. When the next elections to the Board of the JCC came up, the nominating committee, which Ernie chaired, submitted a list of nominees. Seven of those nominees were contested by a write-in list but five of the seven were elected to the JCC board. From that point on Ernie’s positions usually had a majority of votes and the Council began to involve the community in the Soviet Jewry struggle. In the meantime the WCSJ organized daily protests on K and 16th Streets with leaflets and signs. We did this on K and 16th because the police advised us of the 500-feet restriction of protests from a foreign embassy. On December 1969, 18 Jews were arrested in Georgia. A group of courageous students from the University of Maryland decided that drastic measures were needed to attract the attention of the world to this problem. They called it “Militant Non-Violent Protest”. They knew they would need legal backing because if arrested and convicted their careers would be finished. They were looking for someone to defend them and Ernie came forward. Eighteen students and Moshe Brodetsky, calling themselves “The Washington Committee for Human Rights Now” (in their opinion it was a human rights issue and not a Jewish issue) approached the Russian Embassy on 16th Street and chained themselves to the gate and fence. Of course journalists were notified in advance. The students were arrested and jailed. Ernie was right there and went with them to the police station and bailed them out. Ernie and Bruce Saypol defended them during the trial. In Court, Ernie challenged the 500-feet restriction as unconstitutional. The Court found that the 500-feet law was necessary, but the judge had doubts and did not convict the students. Following this incident along with the publicity and the favorable public opinion that followed, the Jewish leadership changed its attitude and became involved in community demonstrations and activities at Soviet cultural exchang events. While many demonstrations took place on K and 16th Street, a few individuals went up 16th Street and stopped across the Soviet Embassy and Solomon’s Memories of Shalowitz Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington Page 2 Voices of the Vigil just stood there in silence. More and more people did that and this is how the daily “vigil” started on the steps of the Electrical Workers Union (AFL-CIO) building. When David Fitzmaurice, the president of the Electrical Workers was asked for permission, he said: “by all means, I’ll join you when I can”. The vigil continued for many years. The Jewish Community Council (Buddy Sislen) coordinated attendance at the vigil by assigning each synagogue a day of the week. On Shabbat and Jewish Holidays, Pastor John Steinbruck of the Luther Place Church at Thomas Circle would bring members of his congregation to attend the vigil. Ernie became famous as the guy to go to if arrested for protesting on human rights issues. Elmer Cerin, another member of Ohev Sholom insisted on giving out leaflets to passers-by right in front of the embassy on the side walk. He was arrested and Ernie had to get him out. Reverend Steinbruck was arrested on a non-Jewish human rights issue and Ernie defended him also. Ernie came to the Vigil almost every day and people trying to do something unusual would say they feel safer when Ernie is there. Then came the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. What was that? Together with globalization, countries intending to export to the U.S. applied for Most Favored Nation status which lowered the duty fees on their products and gave them a competitive advantage. When the Soviet Union applied for such status, Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Washington and Representative Charles Vanik of Ohio proposed legislation which tied approval of Most Favored Nation status for the Soviets to their Jewish emigration policy. When the amendment came up for a vote in the Senate, Ernie was sitting in the gallery where he spotted six employees from the Soviet Embassy. The amendment passed and Ernie looked at them, smiling, while they rushed to exit. The assistant to Senator Jackson was Richard Perle and Ernie was our liaison to Perle who always advised for noisy demonstrations with prior notification of the press. Few events in the Washington Soviet Jewry movement took place without Ernie’s input and presence. He was devoted to all Jewish causes and invested a great part of his time in the effort to help others. He was original, and an effective organizer. He knew how to involve people to work with him and how to solve difficult situations. He was knowledgeable, fun to be with, a Solomon’s Memories of Shalowitz Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington Page 3 Voices of the Vigil great conversationalist, an advocate for the Jewish people, a great humanitarian and a lover of all sports. We will greatly miss him. Solomon’s Memories of Shalowitz Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington Page 4 Voices of the Vigil .
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