Leading the '
refusniks' this time was Nigeria--of all countries!
Understanding the centrality of the
refusnik prisoner issue in the American movement for Soviet Jewry is extremely important.
The image of the lone
refusnik crushed by a remorseless Behemoth reinforced a one-sided interpretation of liberal rights.
The AU's common sense approach to ending Africa's bizarre and long-standing aviation regime has been scuppered by
refusnik countries.
Think Rumble in the Jungle when Vietnam War
refusnik Muhammad Ali floored George Foreman in Zaire, earning redemption with the American public and vindicating the hype about being "The Greatest".
If we apply this principle to our problem, what Leibowitz says is that there are no rational arguments for refusal of service that could convince anyone who does not want to be a
refusnik. If one's conviction is that there is no place for rational arguments in political principles, since to choose fascism or democracy is rational on the same level, then it becomes a real challenge to develop a political theory.
My knee-jerk reaction to call my mother was not the result of spending the past 72 hours with Jews, but also that my having a bat mitzvah would be a way to further honor her, a single
refusnik mother who risked her life to save mine.
The aliyah (immigration to Israel) movement of the 1970s and 1980s resulted in the "
Refusnik" phenomenon, when thousands of Jews were denied permission to emigrate from the USSR, and dozens of Jews were imprisoned for their activism (Prisoners of Zion).
The other, and in some ways, more interesting,
refusnik this week is Elvis Costello.
Another "
refusnik", veteran Left-winger Alan Simpson, said: "Legg got this profoundly wrong and it won't stand up in court."
Vertlib was born in 1966 in Leningrad, the son of a
refusnik. The family moved in 1971 to Israel.