Fellowship programs
The Stewart and Lynda Resnick Fellowship Program at the National Library of Israel launched over the summer of 2024 and was a resounding success, with two outstanding inaugural fellows whose projects were specifically grounded in the Library's collections. Pardes, the Literary Incubator at the National Library of Israel, ran its seventh residency program from December 2023-July 2024 with the participation of four up-and-coming Israeli authors.
The Natan Sharansky archive
In the Soviet Union in the 1970s, it was almost impossible to publicly express interest in Judaism and Jewish culture or study Hebrew. Jewish activists looked for places to gather where, far from the eyes of the authorities, they could learn Hebrew and share information about Jewish culture. One of these places was a large forest clearing near the Ovrazhki train station, thirty kilometers out of Moscow, where Jewish
activists, including Natan Sharansky (b. 1948), gathered to celebrate Jewish holidays, hold underground photo exhibitions and music festivals, and study Hebrew together. The Ovrazhki birch grove became the unofficial symbol of the 1970s Jewish revival in the Soviet Union. Natan Sharansky’s personal archives, covering the struggle of the Prisoners of Zion and the events leading to Sharansky’s release from prison, are a treasured part of the Library’s collection.
(Excerpted from 101 Treasures from the National Library of Israel )
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