Micah Naftalin

Who was Micah Naftalin?

Micah H. Naftalin was an American advocate for the rights of Soviet Jews. He was national director of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews from February 1987 until his death.

Naftalin held a BA from Brandeis University and a JD from The George Washington University School of Law. He served in Korea as an enlisted man in the U.S. Army 1955-57.

Before joining UCSJ, he served as an aide to U.S. Congressman Carl Elliott, as Chief Counsel and Deputy Director of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Government Research and as a senior policy analyst with the National Academy of Sciences. In 1982, he joined Chairman Elie Wiesel on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, where he was appointed Deputy Director and, later, Acting Director.

Naftalin died in Washington, DC.