Hero of Soviet Jewish aliyah dies at age 88

Mark Dymshits, a prominent figure in the campaign to bring Soviet Jews to Israel, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 88.

Dymshits was most known for his role in "Operation Wedding," the attempt in 1970 to draw international attention to the plight of Soviet Jews who were being denied permission to emigrate to Israel. Dymshits, a pilot, planned, along with a group of other Soviet refuseniks, to seize a plane and escape to the West.

The operation failed and Dymshits was sentenced to death by a Soviet court. International pressure led to the sentence being reduced to 15 years in prison. Dymshits was later released as part of a swap deal between the Soviet Union and the U.S., and he immigrated to Israel.

"Mark Dymshits was a hero of Israel in our generation," Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin said. "It is very symbolic that he left us during a year in which Israel marks the 25th anniversary of the great aliyah from the Soviet Union. We are all greatly indebted to him and his personal story belongs in our national ethos. May his memory be blessed."