Pioneer of Soviet Jewry's Aliyah Movement, Boris Kochubievsky, Dies in Israel

Boris Kochubievsky, also known as Baruch Ashi, a prominent Soviet dissident and one of the first activists advocating for Soviet Jews' right to immigrate to Israel, has died in Israel. His death was announced by Aaron Munblit, citing Uri Ashi, Baruch's son. Born in 1936, Kochubievsky gained public attention in 1967 following the Six-Day War. While working as an engineer at the "Radiopribor" factory in Kyiv, he publicly defended Israel at a company meeting, stating that the Jewish state had fought a defensive war, unlike his colleagues who condemned it.

In 1968, Kochubievsky applied to emigrate to Israel but was denied. Later that year, during a memorial event for the victims of the Babi Yar massacre, he openly declared his Zionist beliefs. On November 28, 1968, he sent an open letter to Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the CPSU, titled "Why I am a Zionist?" In it, he vowed to pursue his right to immigrate regardless of potential repercussions.

Kochubievsky was arrested on December 7, 1968. In May 1969, the Kyiv Regional Court sentenced him to three years in prison for disseminating materials deemed by Soviet authorities to be slanderous to the state and public order. He became the first person convicted in the USSR for Zionist activities after the Six-Day War. His arrest sparked an international solidarity campaign for Soviet Jews.

Following his release in 1971, Kochubievsky was permitted to immigrate to Israel, where he adopted the name Baruch Ashi and worked for Tadiran. In December 2007, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged Kochubievsky's significant role in the struggle of Soviet Jews for their right to immigrate during an event marking the 40th anniversary of the movement.