Jacob Birnbaum

Jacob (Yaakov) Birnbaum (10 December 1926 – 9 April 2014, aged 87) was the German-born founder of Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) and other human rights organizations. Because the SSSJ, at the time of its founding, in 1964, was the first initiative to address the plight of Soviet Jewry, he is regarded as the father of the Movement to Free Soviet Jewry. His father was Solomon Birnbaum and grandfather Nathan Birnbaum.

Early life and education Yaakov Birnbaum was born in Hamburg, Germany. His grandfather was Nathan Birnbaum, writer and Jewish nationalist who coined the word "Zionism", and later a prominent figure in the Jewish religious world. His father was Solomon Birnbaum, a scholar of Yiddish and Hebrew Paleography. In 1938 and 1939 Yaakov went to school with refugee children who were brought out from Central Europe at the last moment in a Kindertransport organized by Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfeld. He later studied modern European history at the University of London.

Birnbaum sacrificed much for SSSJ, leading an ascetic life, even going as far as washing his clothes in the bathtub to save money by avoiding the laundry.

Birnbaum's efforts to raise general awareness of the plight of Soviet Jewry beyond the Jewish community lasted for years. A major goal was accomplished when on 6 December 1987—a day before a summit meeting before Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev—the National Coalition Supporting Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) held a gathering of 250,000 people, including statements from human rights leaders, American presidential candidates, Morris B. Abram (NCSJ president), and a message from President Ronald Reagan. Birnbaum was given negligible attention at the event, something that embittered him for the rest of his life.

Honors and Legacy For the occasion of his 80th birthday, December 10, 2006 (Human Rights Day), the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR137 in 2007 "Honoring the life and six decades of public service of Jacob Birnbaum and especially his commitment to freeing Soviet Jews from religious, cultural, and communal extinction."

A portion of Cabrini Boulevard, in Washington Heights, New York City was renamed in his memory on 18 October 2015. Birnbaum lived in this neighborhood for over fifty years.