View source for Natan Sharansky

{{Short description|Israeli politician and refusenik (born 1948)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Sharansky.jpg
| caption             = Sharansky in 2019
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1948|1|20|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Donetsk|Stalino]], [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukrainian SSR]], Soviet Union
| office1             = Ministerial roles
| suboffice1          = [[Industry, Trade and Labour Minister of Israel|Minister of Industry and Trade]]
| subterm1            = 1996–1999
| suboffice2          = [[Interior Minister of Israel|Minister of Internal Affairs]]
| subterm2            = 1999–2000
| suboffice3          = [[Deputy leaders of Israel#Deputy Prime Minister|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| subterm3            = 2001–2003
| suboffice4          = {{nowrap|[[Housing and Construction Minister of Israel|Minister of Housing & Construction]]}}
| subterm4            = 2001–2003
| suboffice5          = [[Jerusalem Affairs Minister of Israel|Minister of Jerusalem Affairs]]
| subterm5            = 2003–2005
| office6             = Faction represented in the [[Knesset]]
| suboffice6          = [[Yisrael BaAliyah]]
| subterm6            = 1996–2003
| suboffice7          = [[Likud]]
| subterm7            = 2006
| native_name         = {{Nobold|{{Script/Hebrew|נתן שרנסקי}}}}
| native_name_lang    = he
| name                = Natan Sharansky
| birth_name          = Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky
| citizenship         = Israeli

| children            = 2
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Avital Sharansky|Avital Stieglitz]]|1974}}
| alma_mater          = [[Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology]] ([[Bachelor of Mathematics|BMath]])
}}

'''Natan Sharansky'''{{efn|{{langx|he|נתן שרנסקי}}; {{langx|ru|Натан Щаранский}}; {{langx|uk|Натан Щаранський}}}}{{efn|Born '''Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky''' ({{langx|ru|Анатолий Борисович Щаранский}}; {{langx|uk|Анатолій Борисович Щаранський}})}} ({{Langx|he|נתן שרנסקי}}; born 20 January 1948) is an Israeli politician, [[Chess prodigy|professional chess player]] and author. He served as Chairman of the Executive for the [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]] from June 2009 to August 2018,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishagency.org/leadership |title=Leadership, Board & Staff |publisher=The Jewish Agency for Israel |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref> and currently serves as Chairman for the [[Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy]] (ISGAP), an American non-partisan organization. A former [[Soviet dissidents|Soviet dissident]], he spent nine years imprisoned as a [[refusenik]] during the 1970s and 1980s.

==Biography==
Sharansky was born into a [[History of the Jews in Ukraine|Jewish]] family on {{Birth date|1948|1|20|df=y}} in the city of [[Donetsk|Stalino]], [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]] (now Donetsk, Ukraine) in the [[Soviet Union]].

His father, Boris Shcharansky, a journalist from a [[Zionism|Zionist]] background who worked for an industrial journal,<ref>{{cite news
|author=Christopher Lehmann-Haupt |author-link=Christopher Lehmann-Haupt |date=3 May 2002
|title=Ida Milgrom, 94, Dies; Helped Free a Son Held by Soviets
|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/03/world/ida-milgrom-94-dies-helped-free-a-son-held-by-soviets.html
|url-access=subscription
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527202706/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/03/world/ida-milgrom-94-dies-helped-free-a-son-held-by-soviets.html
|archive-date=27 May 2015
}}{{cbignore}}</ref> died in 1980, before Natan was freed.

His mother, [[Ida Milgrom]], visited him in prison and stubbornly waged a nine-year battle for her son's release from Soviet prison and labor camps along with his wife.<ref name=IdaMilgrom.LATimes>{{cite news
|author=Dennis McLellan |date=4 May 2002
|title=Ida Milgrom, 94; Sought Dissident Son's Freedom 
|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]
|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-04-me-ida4-story.html
|url-access=subscription
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804105540/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-04-me-ida4-story.html
|archive-date=4 August 2020
}}{{cbignore}}</ref> She was permitted to follow her son to Israel six months after he left the Soviet Union.

He attended physics and mathematics high school No.17 in [[Donetsk]]. As a child, he was a [[chess]] [[Child prodigy|prodigy]]. He performed in [[simultaneous display|simultaneous]] and [[blindfold chess|blindfold]] exhibitions, usually against adults. At the age of 15, he won the championship in his native Donetsk.<ref name=Schmemann>{{cite news |last=Schmemann |first=Serge |author-link=Serge Schmemann |title=Kasparov beaten in Israel, by Russians |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/16/world/kasparov-beaten-in-israel-by-russians.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206173709/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1996/10/16/world/kasparov-beaten-in-israel-by-russians.html |archive-date=6 February 2010 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 October 1996}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Sharansky graduated with a degree in [[applied mathematics]] from [[Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology]]. When incarcerated in [[solitary confinement]], he claims to have maintained his sanity by playing chess against himself in his mind. Sharansky beat the world chess champion [[Garry Kasparov]] in a [[simultaneous exhibition]] in Israel in 1996.<ref name=Schmemann/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25560162|title=Natan Sharansky: how chess kept one man sane |publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=3 January 2014}}</ref>

After Sharansky graduated from university, he began working for a secret state research laboratory. Sharansky lived near [[Sokolniki Park]], on Kolodezniy Pereulok in Moscow. In his spare time, Sharansky would coach young chess players at the famous chess club in the park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coollib.com/b/243118-yuriy-georgievich-felshtinskiy-kgb-igraet-v-shahmatyi/read|title=КГБ играет в шахматы (Fb2) &#124; КулЛиб – Классная библиотека! Скачать книги бесплатно}}</ref>

He took his current Hebrew name in 1986 when he was freed from Soviet incarceration as part of a prisoner exchange and received an Israeli passport with his new name.<ref name =mcd/><ref name=":0" />

Natan Sharansky is married to [[Avital Sharansky]] and has two daughters, Rachel and Hannah.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/sharansky.html |title=Natan (Anatoly) Sharansky |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref><ref>[https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/natan-sharanskys-golden-award-593855 Natan Sharansky receives Guardian of Zion Award for defending Jerusalem]</ref> In the Soviet Union, his application to marry Avital was denied by the authorities. They were married in a friend's apartment, in a ceremony not recognized by the government, as the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] only recognized [[civil marriage]] and not religious marriage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Man in the news: Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky; a free man at last|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/12/world/man-in-the-news-anatoly-borisovich-shcharansky-a-free-man-at-last.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 February 1986}}</ref>

==Arrest and imprisonment==
Sharansky was denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. The reason given for denial of the visa was that he was given access, at some point in his career, to information vital to Soviet national security and could not now be allowed to leave.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/jewish-agency-head-sharansky-to-get-israel-prize-for-immigration-absorption-545399 Jewish Agency head Sharansky to get Israel Prize for immigration absorption]</ref> After becoming a [[refusenik]], Sharansky became a human rights activist, working as a translator for [[Soviet dissidents|dissident]] and [[nuclear physics|nuclear physicist]] [[Andrei Sakharov]], and spokesman for the [[Moscow Helsinki Group]] and a leader for the rights of refuseniks.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-moscow-helsinki-group-timeline/27731056.html Timeline: Forty Years Of The Moscow Helsinki Group]</ref>
On 15 March 1977 Sharansky was arrested by the [[KGB]], then headed by [[Yuri Andropov]], on multiple charges, including [[high treason]] and spying for several Americans. The accusation stated that he passed to the West lists of over 1,300 ''refuseniks'', many of whom were denied exit visas because of their knowledge of state secrets, which resulted in a publication by Robert C. Toth, "Russ Indirectly Reveal 'State Secrets': Clues in Denials of Jewish Visas".<ref>{{cite news|author=Toth, Robert|title=Russ indirectly reveal 'state secrets': clues in denials of Jewish visas|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=22 November 1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=US reporter got secrets, Russians say|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19780712&id=7HBIAAAAIBAJ&pg=4166,2011348|work=[[The Milwaukee Sentinel]]|date=12 July 1978}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> High treason carried the [[Capital punishment in the Soviet Union|death penalty]]. The following year, in 1978, he was sentenced to 13 years of [[forced labor]].

Sharansky spent time in Moscow's [[Lefortovo Prison]], followed by [[Vladimir Central Prison|Vladimir]] and [[Chistopol]] prisons, where for part of the time he was placed in solitary confinement. His health deteriorated, to the point of endangering his life. Later he was detained in Perm 35, a post-[[Stalin]]-[[Gulag]]-type so-called "[[strict regimen colony]]" in [[Perm Oblast]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Berman, Daphna|title=Natan Sharansky: act III, scene I|journal=[[Moment Magazine]]|date=July–August 2012|url=http://www.momentmag.com/natan-sharansky-act-iii-scene-i-2/}}</ref>

During his imprisonment, he embarked on hunger strikes to protest confiscation of his mail, and he was force-fed at least 35 times, which he describes as "a sort of torture". Sharansky later opposed force-feeding of Palestinian detainees.<ref>{{cite news |title='I was force fed at least 35 times in Soviet prison,' Sharansky says |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/i-was-force-fed-at-least-35-times-in-soviet-prison-sharansky-says-467538 |access-date=9 April 2020 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sharansky Recalls Force Feeding in Soviet Prison Was 'Torture' {{!}} Hamodia.com |url=https://hamodia.com/2016/09/12/sharansky-recalls-force-feeding-soviet-prison-torture/ |access-date=9 April 2020 |work=Hamodia |date=12 September 2016 |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Release from detention==
[[File:Mevrouw Sharansky (1980).jpg|thumb|Sharansky's wife [[Avital Sharansky|Avital]] at the Sharansky tribunal in Amsterdam, 12 May 1980]]
As a result of an international campaign led by his wife, Avital Sharansky (including assistance from [[East Germany|East German]] lawyer [[Wolfgang Vogel]], New York Congressman [[Benjamin Gilman]], and Rabbi [[Ronald Greenwald]]), Sharansky was released on 11 February 1986 as part of a larger exchange of detainees. He was the first [[political prisoner]] released by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]].<ref>[https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/sharansky-speaks/ Sharansky Speaks]</ref>

Sharansky and three low-level Western spies (Czech citizen [[Jaroslav Javorský]] and West German citizens [[Wolf-Georg Frohn]], and [[Dietrich Nistroy]]) were exchanged for Czech spies [[Karl Koecher]] and [[Hana Koecher]] held in the United States, Soviet spy [[Yevgeni Zemlyakov]], Polish spies [[Marian Zacharski]] and {{ill|Jerzy Kaczmarek (szpieg)|lt=Jerzy Kaczmarek|pl|Jerzy Kaczmarek (szpieg)}}, and [[East Germany|East German]] spy [[Detlef Scharfenorth]] (the latter four held in West Germany).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1986_218497/east-west-exchange-spies-shcharansky.html |title=East, West exchange spies, Shcharansky |publisher=Houston Chronicle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021121954/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1986_218497/east-west-exchange-spies-shcharansky.html |archivedate=2012-10-21 |access-date=2024-09-11}}</ref> The men were released in two stages, with Sharansky freed first then whisked away, accompanied by the United States Ambassador to West Germany, [[Richard R. Burt]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Markham|first1=James M|title=Shcharansky Wins Freedom in Berlin in Prisoner Trade|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/12/world/shcharansky-wins-freedom-in-berlin-in-prisoner-trade.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1986-02-12}}</ref> The exchange took place on the [[Glienicke Bridge]] between West Berlin and East Germany, which was used before for this purpose.<ref>{{cite news |last=Broder |first=Jonathan |title=Hero is home: Israel cheers Sharansky |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/02/12/hero-is-home-israel-cheers-shcharansky/ |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=12 February 1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Moseley |first=Ray |title=Shcharansky swap confirmed (Sharansky swap confirmed) |date=11 February 1986 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/02/11/shcharansky-swap-confirmed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127213009/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-02-11-8601110144-story,amp.html |archive-date=27 January 2020}}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|alternate title supplied because the "birth name" spelling present in the story as published (with the extra "chk") is generally used infrequently}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - P.M. Peres Welcomes Sharansky.jpg|right|thumb|[[Anatoly Sharansky]] meeting then-Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]] after his release from the Soviet Union]]
Sharansky immediately emigrated to Israel, adopting the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name ''Natan'' and eventually simplifying his surname to Sharansky.

Due to his age and poor health, he was exempted from the standard compulsory three years' IDF service, but had to undergo three weeks of military training and do a stint in the [[Civil Guard (Israel)|Civil Guard]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sharansky begins military training|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19880301&id=SqgpAAAAIBAJ&pg=3932,273427|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|date=1 March 1988}}</ref>

In 1988, he wrote ''[[Fear No Evil (book)|Fear No Evil]]'', a memoir of his time as a prisoner. He founded the [[Zionist Forum]], an organization of Soviet immigrant Jewish activists dedicated to helping new Israelis and educating the public about integration issues, known in Israel as ''klita'' (lit. "absorption"). Sharansky also served as a contributing editor to ''[[The Jerusalem Report]]'' and as a board member of {{ill|Peace Watch|ja|地球平和監視時計}}.<ref>[https://archive.jewishagency.org/executive-members/natan-sharansky-honorary-member Natan Sharansky, Honorary Member]</ref>

===Freedom fighter awards===
*In 1986, the [[United States Congress]] granted him the [[List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients|Congressional Gold Medal]].<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/goldMedal.html Congressional Gold Medal recipients] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927051601/http://clerk.house.gov/histHigh/Congressional_History/goldMedal.html |date=27 September 2011 }}. Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved on 9 September 2011.</ref>
*In 1987, the [[Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America]] granted Sharansky the ''Henrietta Szold Award'', given by [[Ruth Popkin]].<ref>[http://digifindingaids.cjh.org/?pID=2916671 Guide to the Operations and Functions Records in the Hadassah Archives], RG 15, Box 45, Folder 25, [[American Jewish Historical Society]], Boston and New York</ref>
*In 2006, US President [[George W. Bush]] awarded him the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061207-2.html Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients] The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. 7 December 2006</ref>
*On 17 September 2008, the [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library|Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation]] awarded Sharansky its 2008 [[Ronald Reagan Freedom Award]].<ref name="reward">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2008-02-28 |title=Natan Sharansky to receive Ronald Reagan Freedom Award |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3512823,00.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=Ynet |language=en}}</ref>

==Israeli political career==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan with Anatoly Shcharansky.jpg|thumb|Sharansky and President [[Ronald Reagan]], December 1986]]
[[File:President George W. Bush congratulates Natan Sharansky after honoring him with the 2006 Presidential Medal of Freedom.jpg|thumb|right|Sharansky is congratulated by [[President of the United States|President]] [[George W. Bush]] after receiving the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], December 2006]]
In 1995, Sharansky and [[Yoel Edelstein]] founded the [[Yisrael BaAliyah]] party (a play on words, since "aliya" means both Jewish emigration to Israel and "rise", thus the party name means "(People of) Israel immigrating (to the State of Israel)", as well as "Israel on the rise"), promoting the absorption of the Soviet Jews into Israeli society. The party won seven [[Knesset]] seats in 1996.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Natan Ščaranskij|author2=Anatoly Sharansky|title=The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny And Terror|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJaqxyY4kusC|year=2006|publisher=Balfour Books|isbn=978-0-89221-644-4|page=13}}</ref> It won 6 seats in the [[1999 Israeli legislative election]], gaining two ministerial posts, but left the government on 11 July 2000 in response to suggestions that Prime Minister [[Ehud Barak]]'s negotiations with the Palestinians would result in a division of [[Jerusalem]]. After [[Ariel Sharon]] won a [[2001 Israeli prime ministerial election|special election for Prime Minister]] in 2001, the party joined his new government and was again given two ministerial posts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/govt/eng/GovtByNumber_eng.asp?govt=29 |title=Governments of Israel |publisher=Knesset.gov.il |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>

In the [[2003 Israeli legislative election|January 2003 elections]], the party was reduced to just two seats. Sharansky resigned from the Knesset and was replaced by Edelstein. However, he remained party chairman and decided to merge it into Likud (which had won the election with 38 seats). The merger went through on 10 March 2003,<ref name=PGs>{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/faction/eng/FactionHistoryAll_eng.asp |title=Parliamentary Groups in the Knesset |publisher=Knesset.gov.il |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref> and Sharansky was appointed Minister of Jerusalem Affairs.

From March 2003 – May 2005, he was Israel's [[Minister without Portfolio]], responsible for Jerusalem's social and [[Jewish diaspora]] affairs. Under this position, Sharansky chaired a secret committee that approved the confiscation of [[East Jerusalem]] property of [[West Bank]] Palestinians. This decision was reversed after an outcry from the Israeli left and the international community.<ref>{{cite web|author=Nonna Gorilovskaya |url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2005/03/dissident-interview-natan-sharansky |title=The Dissident: An Interview With Natan Sharansky |work=Mother Jones |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>

Previously he served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Minister of Housing and Construction since March 2001, [[Interior Minister of Israel]] (July 1999 – resigned in July 2000), [[Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry|Minister of Industry and Trade]] (1996–1999).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Natan Sharansky on Human Rights and Democracy in the Middle East |url=https://international.ucla.edu/institute/article/17697 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=international.ucla.edu |language=en}}</ref>

He resigned from the cabinet in April 2005 to protest plans to [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan|withdraw]] [[Israeli settlement]]s from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sharansky resigns from Israeli cabinet over Gaza |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/sharansky-resigns-from-israeli-cabinet-over-gaza-1.437127 |access-date=2025-03-29 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>

He was re-elected to the Knesset in March 2006 as a member of the Likud Party. On 20 November 2006, he resigned from the [[Knesset]] to head a think tank at the [[Shalem Center]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guttman |first=Nathan |date=2006-10-20 |title=Sharansky To Resign From Politics |url=https://forward.com/news/5939/sharansky-to-resign-from-politics/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref>

===NGO work and other activities===

In 2019 Natan Sharansky became the Chairman of the [[ISGAP|Institute for the study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP)]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://isgap.org/our-people/our-fellows-staff/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605125001/https://isgap.org/our-people/our-fellows-staff/ | archive-date=5 June 2020 | title=Our Professional & Academic Staff » ISGAP }}</ref>

Since 2007, Sharansky has been chairman of the board of [[Beit Hatefutsot]], the Jewish diaspora museum.<ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3414395,00.html "Sharansky new Beth Hatefutsoth head"]. Ynetnews. (20 June 1995). Retrieved on 9 September 2011.</ref>

In September 2009 Sharansky secured $6&nbsp;million from the [[Genesis Philanthropy Group]] for educational activities in the former Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berkman |first=Jacob |date=2009-09-02 |title=Genesis group gives Jewish Agency $6 million for education projects in FSU |url=http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2009/09/02/1007603/genesis-group-gives-jewish-agency-6-million-for-education-projects-in-fsu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227184115/http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2009/09/02/1007603/genesis-group-gives-jewish-agency-6-million-for-education-projects-in-fsu |archive-date=27 February 2012 |access-date=2014-02-08 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency g}}</ref>

In June 2009, Sharansky was elected to the chair of the executive of the [[Jewish Agency for Israel]] by the Jewish Agency Board of Governors,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yanko |first=Adir |date=2018-03-18 |title=נתן שרנסקי זכה בפרס ישראל לעלייה ולקיבוץ גלויות |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5177446,00.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=Ynet |language=he}}</ref> and was re-elected in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-02-19 |title=שרנסקי נבחר מחדש לתפקיד יושב ראש הסוכנות היהודית - וואלה חדשות |url=https://news.walla.co.il/break/2618315 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Walla |language=he}}</ref> He was replaced on 1 August 2018 by [[Isaac Herzog]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-24 |title=רשמית: ח"כ יצחק הרצוג נבחר ליו"ר הסוכנות היהודית |url=https://www.maariv.co.il/news/politics/Article-647132 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Maariv |language=he}}</ref>

He is a founding member of [[One Jerusalem]].{{cn|date=November 2023}}

Sharanksy is co-Founder and chairman of the Genesis Prize Advisory Board.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.genesisprize.org/about/leadership/natan-sharansky|title=Natan Sharansky|publisher=Genesis Prize|access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref>

==Media recognition and awards==
In 1997, Sharansky was the focus of a 2.5-hour-long episode of ''Chaim SheKa'ele'' ("What A Life"), the Israeli version of ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]''. The episode focused mainly on his experiences as a Soviet dissident, and featured many of his family and acquaintances.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chaim SheKa'ele – Natan Sharansky |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQCO4UCJtJ4  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614053521/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQCO4UCJtJ4 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |url-status=dead|via=YouTube |date=1997 |language=he}}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|This video may be slow to load and it appears that after the music starts, you must click on screen; this has subtitles, but they are in Hebrew; there is some English-language audio about 1:59:10 in but it may be troublesome to locate this}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2005, Sharansky participated in ''[[They Chose Freedom]]'', a four-part television documentary on the history of the [[Soviet dissident movement]], and in 2008 he was featured in [[Laura Bialis]]' documentary ''[[Refusenik (film)|Refusenik]]''. In 2014, he took part in [[Natella Boltyanskaya]]'s documentary ''[[Parallels, Events, People]]''. He was number eleven on the list of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's 100 most influential people of 2005 in the "Scientists and thinkers" category.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Chafets, Zev|title=Natan Sharansky: Bush's favorite author|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=10 April 2005|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1047430,00.html}}</ref> He won the 2018 Israel Prize for his lifetime achievements and special contributions to the State of Israel in the fields of Immigration and Absorption.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5178225,00.html|title=Natan Sharansky wins 2018 Israel Prize|date=2018-03-18|website=Ynetnews|language=en|access-date=2019-12-11|last1=Yanko|first1=Adir}}</ref> He was awarded the 2020 [[Genesis Prize]] for his "lifelong struggle for human rights."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/human-rights-icon-natan-sharansky-wins-israels-prestigious-genesis-prize/|title='Jewish hero' Natan Sharansky wins Israel's prestigious Genesis Prize|last=staff|first=T. O. I.|website=The Times of Israel |date=10 December 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref> He donated the $1 million prize money to organizations combating the [[Coronavirus disease 2019|coronavirus]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sharansky donates $1 million Genesis Prize to alleviate COVID-19 suffering|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/sharansky-donates-1-million-genesis-prize-to-alleviate-covid-19-suffering-626807|website=The Jerusalem Post |date=4 May 2020 |access-date=2020-05-06}}</ref> In 2024, he received the [[Bonei Zion Prize]] in the "Special Recognition" category.

==Published works==
Sharansky is the author of three books. The first is the autobiographical ''[[Fear No Evil (book)|Fear No Evil]]'', which dealt with his trial and imprisonment. The book was awarded the 1989 [[National Jewish Book Award]] for Biography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mnstate.edu/schwartz/natonaljewishbookaward.htm|title=National Jewish Book Award|website=web.mnstate.edu|access-date=2019-12-11}}</ref>

His second book, ''[[The Case for Democracy|The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror]]'' was co-written with [[Ron Dermer]]. [[George W. Bush]] offered praise for the book:
<blockquote>If you want a glimpse of how I think about foreign policy, read Natan Sharansky's book, ''The Case for Democracy''. ... For government, particularly – for opinion makers, I would put it on your recommended reading list. It's short and it's good. This guy is a heroic figure, as you know. It's a great book.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dickerson, John|title=What the president reads|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/bush.readinglist.tm/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529173854/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/bush.readinglist.tm/|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 May 2012|publisher=[[CNN International]]|date=10 January 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Kristol, William|title=Honoring democracy. From the 24 January 2005 issue: Honor points the path of duty; the path of duty for us is the defense of liberty|journal=[[The Weekly Standard]]|date=24 January 2005|volume=10|issue=18|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/6348|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307102144/http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/6348|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref></blockquote>

His book ''[[Defending Identity|Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy]]'', is a defense of the value of national and religious identity in building democracy.<ref>[http://inkwellreview.blogspot.com/2008/07/identity-politik.html Sharansky Interview regarding ''Defending Identity'', 14 July 2008]. Inkwellreview.blogspot.com (26 July 2008). Retrieved on 9 September 2011.</ref>

Still another book [[Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People]] tells about his political activity and how his personal experience influenced it.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Natan |last1=Sharansky |first2=Gil|last2=Troy|title= Never Alone: Prison, Politics, and My People
 |publisher= Public Affairs |date = 1 September 2020
 |pages         = 480 |isbn          =  978-1541742420}}</ref>

==Political views==
[[File:Vladimir Putin with Natan Sharansky-1.jpg|thumb|250px|Sharansky and [[Vladimir Putin]] in the Kremlin, 19 September 2000]]
Sharansky has argued that there can never be peace between Israel and the Palestinians until there is "the building of real democratic institutions in the fledgling Palestinian society, no matter how tempting a 'solution' without them may be."<ref>{{cite book|author1=Natan Ščaranskij|author2=Anatoly Sharansky|title=The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny And Terror|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJaqxyY4kusC|year=2006|publisher=Balfour Books|isbn=978-0-89221-644-4}}</ref> In a ''[[Haaretz]]'' interview, he said:

<blockquote>Jews came here 3,000 years ago and this is the cradle of Jewish civilization. Jews are the only people in history who kept their loyalty to their identity and their land throughout the 2,000 years of exile, and no doubt that they have the right to have their place among nations—not only historically but also geographically. As to the Palestinians, who are the descendants of those Arabs who migrated in the last 200 years, they have the right, if they want, to have their own state ... but not at the expense of the state of Israel.<ref name=mcd>{{cite journal|author=Desch, Michael|title=Sharansky's double standard|journal=[[The American Conservative]]|date=28 March 2005|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/sharanskys-double-standard/}}</ref></blockquote>

In the wake of the [[Arab uprisings of 2011]], he told ''[[Moment Magazine]]'', "To sign an agreement you must have a partner who is dependent on the well-being of his people, which is what democracy means."<ref>{{cite web|author=Natan Sharansky |title=What Is Israel's Next Move in the New Middle East? |url=http://www.momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/06/IsraelsNextMove.html |work=Moment Magazine |date=May–June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506055639/http://www.momentmag.com/moment/issues/2011/06/IsraelsNextMove.html |archive-date=6 May 2011 }}</ref>

In February 2022, Sharansky called on the Israeli government to take “a clear moral stand” against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|invade Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Horovitz |first=David |title=Sharansky: Israel must take 'a clear moral stand' against Putin over Ukraine |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/sharansky-israel-must-take-a-clear-moral-stand-against-putin-over-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=28 February 2022 |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref> He called the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] the greatest threat to the free world since World War II and said that Israel must stand firmly with the Ukrainian people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ukrainian crisis according to Natan Sharasnky |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/article-700972 |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=10 March 2022 |language=en-US |issn=0792-822X}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair]]
* [[Town square test]]
* [[New antisemitism]]
* [[Three Ds of antisemitism]] 

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite journal|title=Ceasing a life of double thinking|journal=[[Jewish Quarterly]]|date=January 1986|volume=33|issue=3|pages=15–17|doi=10.1080/0449010X.1986.10703688|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0449010X.1986.10703688|doi-broken-date=12 July 2025}}
* {{cite journal |author1=Shcharansky, Anatoly |author2=Bonner, Yelena |author3=Alexeyeva, Ludmilla |title=The tenth year of the Watch |journal=[[The New York Review of Books]] |date=26 June 1986 |volume=33 |issue=11 |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1986/06/26/the-tenth-year-of-the-watch/ }}
* {{cite journal|title=As I see Gorbachev|journal=[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]]|date=1 March 1988|volume=85|issue=3|pages=29–34|url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/as-i-see-gorbachev/}}
* {{cite news|title=Life in the 'small zone': Sentenced to a labor camp, a Soviet poet tries to stay internally free|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/11/20/life-in-the-small-zone/|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=20 November 1988}}
* {{cite journal|title=The legacy of Andrei Sakharov|journal=[[Journal of Democracy]]|date=Spring 1990|volume=1|issue=2|pages=35–40|doi=10.1353/jod.1990.0035|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jod/summary/v001/1.2sharansky.html|last1=Shcharansky|first1=Anatoly|s2cid=154840266|url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite news|title=Temple mount is more important than peace|url=https://www.haaretz.com/temple-mount-is-more-important-than-peace-1.102869|work=[[Haaretz]]|date=16 October 2003}}
* {{cite news|title=On hating the Jews. The inextricable link between anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=17 November 2003|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122729626907148599}}
* {{cite journal|title=3D test of anti-semitism: demonization, double standards, delegitimization|journal=[[Jewish Political Studies Review]]|date=Fall 2004|issue=16|pages=3–4|url=http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-sharansky-f04.htm|archive-date=17 February 2019|access-date=1 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217051906/https://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-sharansky-f04.htm|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite journal|title=Peace will only come after freedom and democracy|journal=[[Middle East Quarterly]]|date=Winter 2005|volume=12|issue=1|pages=79–83|url=http://www.meforum.org/666/natan-sharansky-peace-will-only-come-after}}
* {{cite journal|author1=Eid, Bassem|author2=Sharansky, Natan|title=Bush's Mideast U-Turn|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=11 February 2008|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120269089266857707}}
* {{cite news|title=The dissident choice|url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oe-sharansky24-2008nov24-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=24 November 2008}}
* {{cite journal|title=How the U.N. perpetuates the 'refugee' problem. Nowhere on earth do terrorists get so much help from the Free World|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=6 January 2009|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123120586642556073}}
* {{cite journal|title=Students and Housewives vs. Evil Empire. My KGB interrogators scoffed at it, but the movement to free Soviet Jewry helped end the Cold War|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=5 December 2012|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323401904578159102882693658}}
* {{cite journal|title=Is Rouhani the new Gorbachev? How to test a supposed reformer: stand firm on sanctions, wait for proof|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=17 November 2013|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303789604579197641515153788}}
* {{cite journal|title=Marshaling the web to fight tyrants. Western leaders often disappoint dissidents, but now regular citizens world-wide can help out|journal=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=16 July 2014|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/natan-sharansky-marshaling-the-web-to-fight-tyrants-1405552445}}
* {{cite news|author1=Sharansky, Natan|author2=Keyes, David|title=Trust the dissidents, not the diplomats|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-the-dissidents-are-ahead-of-the-diplomats/2015/02/06/59bb6e8e-ad78-11e4-ad71-7b9eba0f87d6_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=6 February 2015}}
* {{cite news|title=Breaking the silence is no human rights organization – and I should know|url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.700570|work=[[Haaretz]]|date=31 January 2016}}
* ''[[Fear No Evil: The Classic Memoir of One Man's Triumph over a Police State]]'', Public Affairs: 1998. {{ISBN|1-891620-02-9}}.
* ''[[The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror]]'', Public Affairs: 2004. {{ISBN|1-58648-261-0}}.
* ''[[Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy]]'', Public Affairs: 2008. {{ISBN|1-58648-513-X}}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book|title=Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky: the journey home|date=1988|publisher=Harcourt|isbn=978-0151066704|url=https://archive.org/details/anatolyavitalshc00sand}}
* {{cite journal|title=APS joins in appeals for Orlov and Shcharansky|journal=[[Physics Today]]|date=January 1985|volume=38|issue=1|pages=117|doi=10.1063/1.2813731|bibcode=1985PhT....38Q.117.}}
* {{cite journal|title=MPs seek to see Shcharanskii|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=15 June 1978|volume=273|issue=5663|pages=485|doi=10.1038/273485c0|bibcode=1978Natur.273R.485.|s2cid=4274944|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|title=Shcharanskii trial stirs new anti-Soviet protests|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=13 July 1978|volume=274|issue=5667|pages=107|doi=10.1038/274107a0|bibcode=1978Natur.274..107.|s2cid=32715294|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|title=Shcharansky urges sanctions|journal=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=6 October 1986|volume=19|issue=39|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CecCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13|last1=New York Media|first1=LLC}}
* {{cite journal|author1=Hyman, Lloyd |author2=Katz, Joseph |author3=O'Connor, Timothy |author4=Peshkin, Murray |author5=Ringo, Roy |title=Concerning Y. Orlov and A. Sharansky|journal=[[Science (magazine)|Science]]|date=21 October 1977|volume=198|issue=4314|pages=253|doi=10.1126/SCIENCE.198.4314.251|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |pmid=17770484|bibcode=1977Sci...198..253H}}
* {{cite journal|author=Korey, William|title=American reaction to the Shcharansky case|journal=[[American Jewish Year Book]]|date=1980|volume=80|pages=118–129|jstor=23603826}}
* {{cite journal|author=Minker, Jack|title=Opinion paper: science, Shcharansky, and the Soviets|journal=[[Journal of the American Society for Information Science]]|date=September 1978|volume=29|issue=5|pages=219–224|doi=10.1002/asi.4630290503}}
* {{cite journal|author=Rich, Vera|title=Shcharanskii may soon be brought to trial-without a lawyer|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=12 January 1978|volume=271|issue=5641|pages=104–105|doi=10.1038/271104a0|bibcode=1978Natur.271..104R|s2cid=4270569|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|author=Rich, Vera|title=Shcharanskii trial delayed again, others exiled|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=6 July 1978|volume=274|issue=5666|pages=6|doi=10.1038/274006b0|bibcode=1978Natur.274....6R|s2cid=247372|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|author=Rich, Vera|title=Shcharanskii release triggers hopes|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=20 February 1986|volume=319|issue=6055|pages=611|doi=10.1038/319611b0|bibcode=1986Natur.319..611R|s2cid=4371730|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|author=Shlapentokh, Dmitry|title=President Bush, Shcharansky and the tradition of Russian dissent|journal=[[Contemporary Review]]|date=August 2005|volume=287|issue=1675|pages=71–81|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/President+Bush,+Shcharansky+and+the+tradition+of+Russian+dissent.-a0136513147}}
* {{cite journal|author=Turnberg, Leslie|title=Anatoly Shcharansky|journal=[[The Lancet]]|date=7 January 1984|volume=323|issue=8367|pages=50|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(84)90214-9|pmid=6140374|s2cid=27357552}}
* {{cite journal|author1=Van Den Berg, Ger |author2=Simons, William |title=The Soviet Union and human rights legislation: the Shcharansky case|journal=[[California Western International Law Journal]]|date=1981|volume=11|issue=3|pages=479, 493|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/calwi11&div=27}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{MKlink|id=127}}
* {{C-SPAN|21190}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040615094357/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/224ncdel.asp The View from the Gulag. An interview with Natan Sharansky]

{{Israeli Housing and Construction Ministers}}
{{Israeli Industry, Trade and Labour Ministers}}
{{Israeli Ministers of Interior}}
{{Soviet dissidents}}
{{Moscow Helsinki Group}}
{{Refusenik movement and 1990s post-Soviet aliyah}}
{{Ronald Reagan Freedom Award}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharansky, Natan}}
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