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Guide to the Papers of Laurel Gould (1931-2008) and Alan J. Gould (1929- ), undated, 1963, 1969-1982

*P-866

Processed by Andrey Filimonov and Vital Zajka

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2013, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Andrey Filimonov in July 2009. Description is in English.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Gould, Laurel
Title: Laurel Gould (1931-2008) and Alan J. Gould (1929- ), papers
Dates: undated, 1963, 1969-1982 (bulk 1970-1980)
Abstract: The collection contains papers of Laurel Gould and her lawyer husband Alan J. Gould, activists of the American Soviet Jewry Movement involved with the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews in Washington D. C. area and in the San Fracisco Bay area, Northern California Lawyers Committee for Soviet Jews and National Conference on Soviet Jewry. The bulk of the collection covers the decade of 1970 through 1980. The materials include correspondence, memoranda, individual files on Soviet Jewish Refuseniks, documentation of special projects, events and visits to USSR, publications, legal materials pertinent to the Soviet Jewry, photographs, slides and audio recordings of conversations and interviews with the Soviet Jews.
Languages: The collection is in English and Russian.
Quantity: 6.75 linear feet (14 manuscript boxes)
Identification: P-866
Repository: American Jewish Historical Society
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Historical Note

The Papers of Laurel and Alan J. Gould represent one collection housed within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM). These papers reflect the effort, beginning in the 1960s through the late 1980s, of thousands of American Jews of all denominations and political orientations to stop the persecution and discrimination of Jews in the Soviet Union. The American Soviet Jewry Movement (ASJM) is considered to be the most influential Movements of the American Jewish community in the 20th century. The beginnings of the organized American Soviet Jewry Movement became a model for efforts to aid Soviet Jews in other countries, among them Great Britain, Canada, and France. The movement can be traced to the early 1960s, when the first organizations were created to address the specific problem of the persecution and isolation of Soviet Jews by the government of the Soviet Union.

Laurel Gould was an American Soviet Jewry Movement activist, involved with the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews in Washington D. C. area and in the San Francisco Bay area. Her husband, Alan Gould, a practicing attorney, served as a chairman of the Northern California Lawyers Committee for Soviet Jews and was a member of the Board of Directors of National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Together they traveled to the Soviet Union to aid Soviet Jewish Refuseniks in Moscow, Minsk and Kiev, and were involved in publishing the Soviet Jewry Law Review, the first law review exclusively focusing on legal issues of Soviet Jewry.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection is divided into six series.

The Laurel and Alan J. Gould Papers include materials from the end of 1960’s to early 1980’s and the bulk of the collection originated throughout the decade of 1970’s. The documents include correspondence, memoranda, publications, news clippings, photographs, slides, ephemera and audio recordings.

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Arrangement

The collection is divided into six series as follows:

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:

American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y., 10011 email: reference@ajhs.org

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Related Material

The Papers of Laurel and Alan J. Gould is one individual collection within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM) located at the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS). Other Soviet Jewry Movement collections at AJHS include the records of Action for Soviet Jewry (I-487), the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ; I-181 and I-181A), the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (I-410), Medical Mobilization for Soviet Jewry, and the papers of Jerry Goodman (P-863), Joel Ackerman (P-787) and Julia Mates Cheney (P-806).

Individual accounts of activities within the Soviet Jewry Movement are preserved in the UJA Oral History Collection (I-433), which includes accounts from members of the following organizations: the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, Bay Area Council on Soviet Jews (BACSJ), Seattle Action for Soviet Jews, Houston Action for Soviet Jews, Chicago Action for Soviet Jews, Colorado Committee of Concern for Soviet Jews and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Interviewees include accounts by Lillian Forman (BACSJ), Ann Polunsky, Morey Schapira, Myrtle Sitowitz, Deborah Turkin, David Waksberg, Sylvia Weinberg and Dolores Wilkenfeld. In addition, posters related to the Soviet Jewry Movement can be found in the Jewish Student Organizations Collection (I-61).

Additional materials from other collections include records dealing with the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) located within the North American Jewish Students Appeal (NAJSA, I-338) and the records of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC, I-172). Related records are also located at the AJHS in Newton Centre, MA including memorabilia and ephemera of the New England Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (I-237) and the Records of the Student Coalition for Soviet Jewry – Brandeis University (I-493).

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Laurel Gould (1931-2008) and Alan J. Gould (1929- ), papers; P-866; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

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Acquisition Information

Donated by Alan J. Gould in 2008.

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Access Points

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Series I: Correspondence, 1974-1979.
This series is in English with some Russian.
4 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series I includes correspondence of Alan J. Gould, mostly regarding Soviet Jewry. The series also includes letters sent by USSR citizens to Alan J. Gould in a Soviet propaganda campaign effort to orchestrate a seemingly nationwide rebuff to the efforts of the American Soviet Jewry Movement.
Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Correspondence 1974-1975, 1978
1 2 National Conference on Soviet Jewry 1977-1979
1 3 Soviet Jewry, Incoming 1975-1979
1 4 Soviet Propaganda Campaign Letters 1979
    (contains Russian)   
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Series II: Personal Files of Refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience, undated, 1969, 1972-1981.
This series is in English with some Russian.
65 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series II contains individual files on Soviet Jewish Refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience, which include biographical information, press clippings, correspondence with the individuals, legal materials pertaining to their cases and appeals on their behalf.
Box Folder Title Date
1 5 Abramovich, Pavel 1978
1 6 Agursky, Michael undated, 1974
1 7 Ass, Iosif undated, 1974-1976
1 8 Begun, Iosif undated, 1977-1978
1 9 Begun, Iosif undated, 1977-1978
1 10 Brailovsky, Viktor and Irina undated, 1975-1981
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Chernobylsky, Boris 1981
2 2 Feinberg, Emmanuel 1975-1976
2 3 Gelman, Ovsei 1974-1975
   

(contains flexi disk 7" vinyl record)

  
2 4 Goldstein Family undated, 1975, 1978-1979
2 5 Goldstein Family--Appeals and Petitions in Russian Language undated, 1973, 1976-1977
    (contains Russian)   
2 6 Goldstein Family--Appeals to USSR, USA and Israel Governments, Jewish Press of Western Countries undated, 1974, 1976-1979
2 7 Goldstein Family--Biographical 1976-1979
2 8 Goldstein Family--Complaints, Appeals, Petitions 1978
2 9 Goldstein Family--Correspondence, Goldstein Supporters undated 1973-1980
2 10 Goldstein Family--Correspondence undated, 1973-1975, 1977, 1981
2 11 Goldstein Family--Divorce Proceedings, Goldstein Isai and Bykova, Eliza 1980
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Goldstein Family--Employment--Secrecy, Mendeleev Institute undated, 1977-1981
3 2 Goldstein Family--Fawcett Visit, Reddaway Comments 1977
3 3 Goldstein Family--Five Year Campaign 1975-1976
3 4 Goldstein Family--Memos and Related Materials 1975-1976
3 5 Goldstein Family--Postal Case (Interference with Mail) 1973-1978
3 6 Goldstein Family--Postal Case (Interference with Mail), Congressional Hearing Submission 1972, 1975, 1979
3 7 Goldstein Family--Postal Case (Interference with Mail), Exhibits, Congressional Hearing 1974-1975, 1978-1979
3 8 Goldstein Family--Postal Case (Interference with Mail), Taken From Slides 1974, 1976
3 9 Goldstein Family--Support undated, 1974-1979
3 10 Goldstein Family--Telephone Conversations 1972-1973, 1975-1981
3 11 Goldstein, Gregory 1978
3 12 Goldstein, Gregory--Legal Briefs, Efforts 1974-1975, 1978
3 13 Goldstein, Gregory--Legal Statement, North California Lawyers Committee 1978
Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Goldstein, Gregory--Trial and Related Materials 1978-1979
4 2 Goldstein, Isai and Nudel, Ida, Conversation on Alia Movement 1980-1981
4 3 Goldstein--Scientists Refuseniks 1978-1980
4 4 Goman, Gregory 1975
4 5 Guberman, Igor undated, 1979-1980
4 6 Khess, Elena and Gregory 1978
4 7 Kislik, Vladimir 1973-1974, 1977, 1980-1981
4 8 Korniev, Vladimir 1980
4 9 Kushnirenko, Igor 1979-1980
4 10 Lazaris, Vladimir 1975-1977
4 11 Leikina, Meita undated, 1975-1977
4 12 Lein, Evgeny 1981
4 13 Lokshin, V. and Tsukerman 1981
4 14 Mendzheritsky, Emil and Raitburd, Tzilya 1975, 1979
4 15 Nashpitz, Mark undated, 1975-1977, 1980-1981
4 16 Olenik, Ivan and Rotshtein, Sergei 1979-1980
4 17 Paritsky, Alexander undated, 1978-1980
4 18 Pekarsky, Joseph undated, 1975
Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Poltinnikov Family undated, 1974-1976, 1978
5 2 Prestin, Vladimir undated, 1976-1978
5 3 Rosenshtein Gregory and Natalia undated, 1977-1978
5 4 Salansky, Naum 1977
5 5 Samoylovich, Debora 1974-1975
5 6 Scientists Refuseniks 1975-1978
5 7 Sharansky, Anatoly 1977
5 8 Sharansky, Anatoly undated, 1978
5 9 Shkolnik, Isaak undated, 1973, 1977
5 10 Slepak, Vladimir and Maria undated, 1977-1978, 1981
5 11 Stolar, Abe 1978, 1980
5 12 Tiemkin, Marina 1975
5 13 Tonkonogy, Moisey 1977-1978, 1980
5 14 Tsinober, Arkady 1977
5 15 Tsypin, Leonid 1977
5 16 Vilenskis, Volf 1969, 1976
Box Folder Title Date
6 1 Zavurov, Amner 1977
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Series III: American Lawyers’ Assistance to Soviet Jews, undated, 1970, 1972-1981.
This series is in English.
20 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series III contains contact information for American lawyers and lawyers’ committees that could have been instrumental in providing professional legal help to the Soviet Jewish Refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience. It also contains information on the Soviet legal system and international law.
Box Folder Title Date
6 2 American Bar Association undated, 1977-1978
6 3 Crawford, F. J. 1978
6 4 Emigration undated, 1980-1981
6 5 Emigration--Z. Alexander Reports undated, 1979, 1981
6 6 Employment Deprivation 1978-1979, 1981
6 7 Fletcher, George P., Notes undated, 1977
6 8 Helsinki Monitors and Soviet Law Hearing, Washington D.C. 1978, 1980
6 9 International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists 1975-1976
6 10 Lawyers and Lawyers Committees undated, 1976, 1978-1981
6 11 Miscellaneous Resolutions 1975-1976, 1979
6 12 Northern California Lawyers Committee for Soviet Jews undated, 1974, 1977-1980
6 13 Points on Soviet Law undated
6 14 Refusals on Grounds of Secrecy undated, 1979-1981
6 15 Searches and Interrogations 1978-1980
6 16 Soviet Criminal Code, Reprints undated
Box Folder Title Date
7 1 Soviet Jewish Emigration 1974-1981
7 2 Soviet Jewry Law Review undated, 1980-1981
7 3 Stationary--List of Lawyers 1970, 1972, 1979-1980
7 4 Supreme Soviet Decree of December 25, 1972 1972
7 5 Washington Conference on Law and the World undated, 1973-1975, 1979
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Series IV: Projects, Events and Visits to USSR, undated, 1971-1980.
This series is in English.
8 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series IV documents special projects designed to raise awareness of the plight of Soviet Jewry in the American Jewish communities, facilitate direct communication with Jews in the USSR and inform the American visitors to the Soviet Union of the opportunities to help Soviet Jews.
Box Folder Title Date
7 6 Group Project (Ideas) undated, 1971, 1973-1977, 1979
7 7 Neshira undated, 1974, 1976-1978, 1981
7 8 Russia-USA Phone Conversations undated, 1972
7 9 San Antonio Trip Reports undated, 1974-1978
Box Folder Title Date
8 1 Soviet Jewry Teaching Curricula 1974
8 2 "Technology for the American Home" Exhibit in the USSR 1975-1976
8 3 Travel to USSR 1979-1980
8 4 US-USSR Soviet Seminar Series undated, 1978
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Series V: Publications, undated, 1963, 1971-1982.
This series is in English.
35 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series V contains books and newsletters pertinent to Soviet Jewry movement, as well as a Soviet Jewry bibliography.

Box Folder Title Date
8 5 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, August 1976 1976
8 6 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, March 1977 1977
8 7 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, October 1977 1977
8 8 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, August 1978, Volume V 1978
Box Folder Title Date
9 1 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, August 1979, Volume VI 1979
9 2 Case Histories of the Refuseniks, October 1980, Volume VII 1980
9 3 History of Jews in the USSR undated, 1963, 1971, 1977, 1980-1981
9 4 Human Rights in the USSR undated, 1972, 1978-1980
9 5 Information [Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry] 1975-1978
9 6 Information [Canadian Committee for Soviet Jewry] 1976-1981
Box Folder Title Date
10 1 Information [Press Service of National Conference on Soviet Jewry] 1975, 1979-1980
10 2 Information [Press Service of National Conference on Soviet Jewry] 1977-1981
10 3 Information [Press Service of National Conference on Soviet Jewry] 1979-1980
10 4 Information [Press Service of National Conference on Soviet Jewry] 1981-1982
10 5 Insight Soviet Jews [European Jewish Publications] 1975-1978
10 6 Insight Soviet Jews [European Jewish Publications] 1979-1981
10 7 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1972
Box Folder Title Date
11 1 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1973-1974
11 2 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1973, 1976
11 3 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1974
Box Folder Title Date
12 1 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1977
12 2 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1975
12 3 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1978
12 4 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1979
12 5 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1980
12 6 Jews in the USSR [National Council for Soviet Jewry of the United Kingdom and Ireland] 1981
Box Folder Title Date
13 1 Monthly Newsletter Focus on Soviet Jewry 1979-1980
13 2 News Bulletin [Scientists Committee of the Israel Public Council for Soviet Jewry] 1975, 1977-1980
13 3 Newspaper Articles undated, 1973-1975, 1978-1979
13 4 Publications, Miscellaneous undated, 1973, 1978, 1980
13 5 Publications: Jewishness Rediscovered; The Case of Joseph Begun 1974, 1979
13 6 Publications: Orphans of the Exodus 1976-1977
13 7 Society for Research on Jewish Communities, Jerusalem, Catalog of Publications 1977
13 8 Soviet Jewry Bibliography 1971, 1977-1981
Box Folder Title Date
14 1 The East Bay Jewish Observer 1979-1980
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Series VI: Audio Recordings, Photos and Slides, Ephemera, undated, 1974-1976, 1978, 1981.
This series is in English.
35 folders.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Scope and Content:

Series VI contains audio recordings, ephemera, photos and slides.

Subseries A: Audio Recordings, undated, 1974-1976.
This subseries is in English.
4 folders.
Box Folder Title Date
14 2 Compact Cassettes 1-6 undated, 1974-1976
   

Compact Cassette 1

Side 1, part 1: “Tourist (unknown) + Isai Goldstein Tbilisi, Sept. 7th 1975 (Note Phone Ring)

Side 1, part 2: “Isai Goldstein/ Tbilisi- October 1975”

Side 2, part 1: “Continuation of Goldstein Tape 10/75”

Side 2, part 2: “Phone Conversation between L. Gould and Arthur Goebeli- ATT”

Compact Cassette 2

Side 1: “Goldstein Statement 4/8/75”

Side 2: [untitled]

Compact Cassette 3

Side 1: “Agursky - Gould 7/25/74 American Embassy”

Side 2: [untitled]

Compact Cassette 4

Side 1: “Goldstein Gelman (1) Corkery 6/12/74 a.m.”

Side 2: “Genya Intrator / L. Gould, Sun. 2/23/75 and 3/1/75”

Compact Cassette 5

Side 1: “Elizabeth Bikwa, Joel Michaels 12/6/76”

Side 2: [untitled]

Compact Cassette 6

Side 1: “Goldstein Tape 9/75 (Phone Ringing)” [crossed out]

Side 2: “Statement of Isaiah, October 1975”

  
14 3 Compact Cassettes 7-10 undated, 1974-1975
   

Compact Cassette 7

Side 1: “Dr.I.J. Rosofsky, Binghamton- Tbilisi Trip, Nov. 18, 1975”

Side 2: [untitled]

Compact Cassette 8

Side 1: “4 Document of Isai Goldsteins Claim Against the Post Office of Tbilisi Goldsteins Letters to Solzhenizyn and Rudenko”

Side 2: [untitled]

Compact Cassette 9

Side 1: “Hochstein- Sample Ads 6/12/74 Gelman 2:20 A.M. 6/13”

Side 2: “2:30 P.M. 6/12/74 Goebel- F.U. Gelman Call”

Compact Cassette 10

Side 1: [untitled]

Side 2: “Alexander Levin Lerner- Sophia Lerner- Phoenix, Arizona, December 1976”

 
14 4 Vinyl Record, 7": The All-Party Parliamentary Committee for the Release of Soviet Jewry Presents: A Barmitzvah Present for Leonid Slepak undated

Subseries B: Photos and Slides, Ephemera, undated, 1978, 1981.
This subseries is in English.
2 folders.
Box Folder Title Date
14 5 Photos and Slides undated, 1978, 1981
14 6 Soviet Jewry Movement Envelope Seals undated
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