Martin Wenick

Martin Wenick ’61, of Washington, D.C.; May 7, from COVID-19. After Brown he trained as a Foreign Service officer and had a 27-year State Department career that included positions in Washington, D.C., Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, Italy, and the Soviet Union. From 1970 to 1974 he was stationed in Moscow and became head of the National Conference for Soviet Jewry. After retiring he became executive director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) until his retirement in 1998. Under his leadership, HIAS resettled tens of thousands of Soviet Jews, brought the final remnants of Syria’s Jewish community safely to the United States, and helped members of the Baha’i faith escape persecution in Iran, among other initiatives. He is survived by his wife, Alice.