Ilan Sinelnikov: What the Soviet Union Taught Me about Freedom | Stories of Us

freedom of speech means a lot to me freedom of speech means that I have the freedoms that a lot of people in my family never had growing up in the Soviet Union my name is yanel nikov and this is my story I was born in 1992 in ROV Israel as the first generation Israeli to my parents who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union from Ukraine Ukraine was one of those 15 republics that established the USSR and it actually was a home to a huge Jewish population and my family settled in Kev it was very hard for the Jews to beat her they were persecuted there was no freedom of religion there was no freedom of speech my family tried to leave Ukraine for nearly 10 years but they were denied exit my mother got kicked out of high school after the family tried to leave my grandfather lost his job as well [Music] they were all fighting for justice cuz the life in the Soviet Union was not just my grandfather told me that the university there had a code of one Jew for five years not one Jew a year even or a semester but one Jew in five years can be the school in order for the school to say here we go we met arota the Jews can started here as well I'm a proud is really American I was born already in a free country the first generation in my family to do so and when we came to the United States the idea of the United States was the place that everyone can be everything they want and if they want to get somewhere they should be able to get there by hard work and I remember when I got accepted to college this is the best feeling that you possibly have I got accepted to the University of my choice I'm going to come here I'm going to study the next four years going to be phenomenal so one day I walk around campus and something really catches my eye which is flowers all over campus saying join us during the Israel aparty the week I didn't have idea what it even means I'm from Israel well I was thinking it might be an event about my country so myself and two other students we decided to go to check it out and as we arrive in the room the room was not necessarily friendly a lot of people who don't like Israel who don't like America and the side of the room there was a poster and it said that Uncle Sam keeps giving money to Israel to commit a genocide AR you frustrated that your tax pay dollar goes to kill Palestinian children and that was the moment that we decided that we have to do something we got to speak up we registered students supporting Israel and this club will provide the Contra to the clubs that's spreading so much misinformation anti-Semitism and anti-American propaganda in 2014 I was a senior at the University of Minnesota I decided I sign a job opening for the student service fist committee I was thinking it's going to be a great opportunity for me with my degree and my experience in leading a club to apply for such a job and I did the interview went great and after two weeks I got an invite to take on the job I got an email one day saying that there is a problem in the graduate student body and the problem was that there were students at the graduate student body who were supporters of the boycott the investment movement what we know nowadays BDS they launched a full Hands-On campaign against me that lasted weeks my name was smeared I was compared that I started a group similar to the KKK on our campus as the founder of student supporting Israel they were saying that I am promoting violence on our campus I started being treated in a way that none of the other 30 candidates on the Slate was treated I'm the only person that is being attacked and asked questions questions like aren't you afraid that you will be biased as an Israeli and is the founder of student supporting Israel and giving out the money didn't you ask anyone here if they're afraid of being biased for whatever their backgrounds are or you just going to ask the person who's from Israel if his bias and the entire student garment graduate body voted me down out of 30 candidates only one being voted down and not getting the the job and this is Elan sinelnikov cuz I'm an Israeli American cuz I'm a proud Jew I'm a proud Zionist and I decided to fight back students on campuses nowadays are afraid to speak for Israel to speak for other classes to speak saying that they love this country that's when we try to come to the students and tell them you're not alone a lot of times it feels like you're alone against the entire world there are thousands if not Millions students who feel the same way so if we don't fight back back if we just let things go one day we'll wake up to a very sad reality in 1941 when the Nazis entered the Soviet Union and occupied the city of Kev 34,000 Jews in the city of K were massacred in a matter of two days and that goes to 14 members of my family so that's how my great grandfather lost both of his parents and was raised by both of his older sisters and I always wondered how come two regimens can kill 34,000 people in 2 days how it's even possible realistically and it was not just the SS soldiers there it was also collaborators that in a matter of one day turned from Neighbors to the Jews from people that said hello in the hallway to the Jewish people that sent their kids to school with them they turned into collaborators who were sending the Jews to their dads it happened in a matter of 24 hours most of them were educated people with degrees with diplomas and that's what we see on our universities nowadays that some of the most educated people are also some of the most hostile people to the Jews as the collective nowadays because they don't want to be blamed anti-semitic so they hate on the Jewish State my grandfather was an activist his whole life I believe that I got my activism Spirit from him and I hope that when he looks at his grandchild he is proud knowing that his grandchild fights for the truth fights for justice just like he did in one of the hardest places to fight at I'm comfortable hearing things that I don't like on college campuses students are being silenced I was silenced because of my support to Israel but I know that the truth is on my side I live there I have seen the daily life there on the ground and if they want to say it they can say it but I will be there on the other side make can sh that people hear the truth and they can decide where they land freedom of speech means a lot to me freedom of speech means that I have the freedoms that a lot of people in my family never had growing up in the Soviet Union it means that I was the first person in my family that had those freedoms in which I can say and I can think and I can share whatever I want and this is a value that we cannot give away by any means cuz the worst thing that can possibly happen happened to us it's if when one day we wake up and we realize we don't have that freedom to say what we want to say anymore in a country that was built on such a core value we must speak up in order to protect that [Music] freedom thank you for watching this video in order to make proru videos free please consider making a tax deductible donation