Avital Sharansky after Nathan's sentence, Avital met with government leaders in the United States and around the world. In 1979, Avital published a book on the couple's struggle: "Next Year in Jerusalem". The struggle of the Sharanskys was picked up particularly in New York. During Nathan Sharansky's trial, a sign reading "Free Shcharansky" was lit up on Times Square. Avital's activism on behalf of her husband was aided by many, including Rabbi Avi Weiss, Rabbi Ronald Greenwald, and others. Nathan Sharansky was released on February 11, 1986, after which Avital stepped away from public life. The Sharanskys live in Israel, where they
Asher Ben-Natan February 15, 1921. His father, Natan Piernikartz, operated a clothing business in the Austrian capital. He attended a Hebrew High School and was a member of the Young Macabbi. His father bought five-acres of land in Mandatory Palestine in 1934 in response to the emergence of Nazi Germany and the growth of Antisemitism. The family drew up plans to flee to Palestine in 1938 following the Anschluss of Austria. Asher Ben-Natan fled Austria first. He boarded a Panamanian-registered ship in Piraeus, Greece, from which he sailed to Palestine. The ship dropped the passengers off at Tantura, where he swam to