Editing Menachem Mendel Schneerson (section)

===Soviet Jewry===
Schneerson greatly encouraged the Jews who lived in Communist states. He sent many emissaries on covert missions to sustain Judaism under Communist regimes and to provide them with their religious and material needs.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hyam Maccoby |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rabbi-menachem-schneerson-1422311.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rabbi-menachem-schneerson-1422311.html |archive-date=May 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Obituary: Rabbi Menachem Schneerson - People  |work=[[The Independent]] |date=June 13, 1994 |access-date=November 13, 2013}}</ref> Many Jews from behind the Iron Curtain corresponded with Schneerson, sending their letters to him via secret messenger and addressing Schneerson in code name as 'Grandfather'.<ref>Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 299.</ref>

Schneerson opposed demonstrations on behalf of Soviet Jews, stating that he had evidence that they were harming Russia's Jews. Instead, he advocated quiet diplomacy, which he said would be more effective.<ref>Telushkin, Pp. 291-292.</ref><ref>JTA, [http://archive.jta.org/article/1970/12/31/2955421/lubavitcher-hassidim-oppose-public-demonstrations-on-behalf-of-soviet-jews Lubavitcher Hassidim Oppose Public Demonstrations on Behalf of Soviet Jews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114014636/http://www.jta.org/1970/12/31/archive/lubavitcher-hassidim-oppose-public-demonstrations-on-behalf-of-soviet-jews |date=November 14, 2013 }} December 31, 1970.</ref> Schneerson did whatever was in his power to push for the release of Jews from the former Soviet Union and established schools, communities and other humanitarian resources to assist with their absorption into Israel. On one known occasion he instructed Senator [[Chic Hecht]] to provide President Ronald Reagan with contact information of people who wished to leave so that he could lobby their release.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.chabad.org/523711 |date=May 15, 2006 |title=Obituary: Senator Jacob ("Chic") Hecht (1929-2006)}}</ref>

Following the [[Chernobyl disaster]] in 1986, Schneerson called for efforts to rescue Ukrainian Jewish children from Chernobyl and founded a special organization for this purpose.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ccoc.net/who-we-are/our-story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703053727/http://www.ccoc.net/who-we-are/our-story |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |title=Our Story - Who We Are |publisher=Chabad's Children of Chernobyl |access-date=November 13, 2013 }}</ref> The first rescue flight occurred on August 3, 1990, when 196 Jewish children were flown to Israel and brought to a shelter campus. Since then, thousands of children have been rescued and brought to Israel, where they receive housing, education, and medical care in a supportive environment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eglash |first=Ruth |url=http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Chabads-Children-of-Chernobyl-project-as-vital-as-ever |title=Chabad's Children of Chernobyl project 'as vital as ever' |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112746/http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Chabads-Children-of-Chernobyl-project-as-vital-as-ever |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Natan Sharansky]], the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, said that Chabad Lubavitch was an essential connector to Soviet Jewry during the Cold War,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lightstone |first=Mordechai |url=http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2033157/Trending-Topics-Natan-Sharansky-Praises-Work-of-Chabad-at-Federation-General-Assembly.html |title=Natan Sharansky Praises Work of Chabad at Federation General Assembly |publisher=Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters |date=November 7, 2011 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112941/http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2033157/Trending-Topics-Natan-Sharansky-Praises-Work-of-Chabad-at-Federation-General-Assembly.html |archive-date=November 13, 2013 }}</ref> while Shimon Peres has stated that it's to Schneerson's credit that "Judaism in the Soviet Union has been preserved".<ref>Telushkin, page 566</ref>