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This recording is of a celebration marking the conclusion of the Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry (BASJ), which was created in 1987 to provide advocacy and resettlement support for Jews who were facing increasing anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. The ceremony honors the founder, Bill Cohen, as well as the other critical participants in BASJ - the administrators, members of the board, and the volunteers. Moderator and BASJ pioneer, Roxanne Bailin, describes the accomplishments of the project, while Bill Cohen elaborates on its history and mission. He remarks that BASJ was one of the most successful resettlement efforts in the United States. Other speakers and honorees include the mayor of Boulder, the Allied Jewish Federation and local rabbis, as well as members of the New American community (resettled Soviet Jewish immigrants). After the recognition ceremony, two choruses sing and present skits about the process of emigrating and then integrating into the new community. The event concludes with a description of a successor group founded by the Russian Jewish community, the New American Organization.

Sara Goldberg, volunteer coordinator for Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry (BASJ), talks about how upwards of 125 volunteers at a time, filling many different roles, were vital in carrying out the BASJ project; how they were recruited, trained, and matched with the appropriate family or job within the organization. She recalls the ways in which successful relationships between families and volunteers were nurtured, sometimes in the face of difficult social or emotional challenges requiring that special resources be identified and provided. She analyzes how and why BASJ was able, in the long term, to be so successful in helping immigrant families become independent and productive in this culture in spite of, and in some cases because of, the relatively short time available, limited resources, and small staff.

Dr. Roben Datkhaev emigrated from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to Boulder in 1992, along with his family. He describes growing up in the Jewish community in Dushanbe, his education and his many years as a surgeon and chief medical director of a hospital in the former Soviet Union. He explains his reasons for wanting to emigrate, what was involved in obtaining permission to leave, and the way that he worked with Bill Cohen and Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry to obtain permission for others to emigrate. He offers a detailed portrait of both the support of the Boulder Jewish community and the difficulties that he had, as a professional, being able to find work in his new country that used his skills. He also speaks of his father's life, philosophy, and accomplishments with great affection and respect, including his leadership of the Bukharian Jewish community in Denver. Finally, he compares Boulder and the former Soviet Union in terms of attitudes toward religion and education systems.