Marina Furman: Former Refusenik Works to Support Israel at Jewish National Fund-USA (Cover story, May 21)
Your wonderful article about Marina Furman brought back special memories. In December 1988, my wife Bunny and I, along with two friends, made a Soviet Jewry movement special trip to visit refuseniks in the Soviet Union and met Marina and her 10-month-old baby daughter Aliyah. Her husband Lev was in prison at that time. It was a cold day in Leningrad but her warmth to us made us feel great and at home. When we saw Aliyah, our friend said to Marina that your daughter is so beautiful, she should be on the cover of a magazine. No one knew it but I then reached into my traveling bag and brought out a copy of the B’nai B’rith Magazine with a picture of Marina, Lev and Aliyah on the cover. They couldn’t believe it.
The next year, we had the special experience of greeting the Furman family in Israel in freedom.
Since then, Bunny and I had the honor to be at Aliyah’s bat mitzvah and her wedding. As a past president of the Jewish National Fund’s Philadelphia chapter, I have seen the tremendous work that Marina has done to help Israel. What a blessing for Israel and for us.
Frank Brodsky, Wynnewood
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