Anatoly (Natan) Sharansky is Released in a Prisoner Swap in Germany After Serving 9 Years in a Soviet Prison for “Treason and Espionage”

Sharansky, who has become the international symbol for the plight of Soviet Jewry, makes Aliyah after his release, and adopts the Hebrew name Natan. Eventually entering politics in Israel, he helps found the “Yisrael be’Aliyah” party, emerging as a leader of the immigrant community and championing the integration of Jewish-Soviet immigrants into Israeli society in the 1990s. Serving in many ministerial positions, including Minister of Internal Affairs (1999–2000), Deputy Prime Minister (2001-2003) and Minister of Jerusalem Affairs (2003-2005), Sharansky is eventually elected as head of the Jewish Agency for Israel in 2009.