Thirty-six years ago two Russian Jews were sentenced to death for a hijacking that never happened. This slideshow tells their story and how it led to the exodus of 2,000,000 Soviet Jews.

1. A Quick History of the Soviet Jewry Movement How a Foiled Hijacking Led to the Greatest Exodus in Jewish History Philip Spiegel December 2005

13. Thoughts of the Condemned Israel Zalmanson recalls: “The first thing I heard was our relatives in court shouting to us, ‘You did a good job!’. I was in shock. What were they talking about? We had nothing to be proud of; we caused the KGB to arrest others and to confiscate fifteen typewriters.” He continued to relate how he was seated next to Kuznetsov who really believed he was going to die because he said, “Farewell” rather than “See you later” to his relatives. In the van from the court to prison Kuznetsov spoke not of himself but shared news he heard from his attorney that some Jews in Riga had just gotten exit visas. So Zalmanson thought, “At least some people are getting out, so it was not completely in vain”.

22. Emigration Soars after Gorbachev- Reagan Agreements