Exodus Festival Celebrates Success : Jewish emigration: This year, many participants are recent arrivals from former Iron Curtain countries.

In the five years since the first Exodus Festival was held on the Pierce College campus, the Iron Curtain has been raised and thousands of Jews across Eastern Europe have emigrated to the United States and Israel.

The sweeping changes have far surpassed their original dream of festival organizers Sandy Abouaf and Gladys Sturman, which was to help gain freedom for Soviet Jews seeking to leave their country.

“It’s a miracle,” Sturman said of the chain of events that has allowed the current Jewish exodus.

On Sunday, the sixth annual Exodus Festival again celebrated freedom. But this time, many of the 40,000 or so in attendance were among those who secured permission to leave their country partly through the efforts of previous festival participants who signed petitions, wrote letters and donated money.

At the booth for Operation Exodus, an organization that helps Soviet Jews emigrate to Israel, Tatyana Kodner said money raised from previous festivals and constant pressure from Jewish groups resulted in her getting permission to leave her hometown of Leningrad.

For eight years, she and her family were refused an exit visa. Finally, her request was granted three years ago. She now lives in Northridge and assists other Soviet families in making the transition to life in the United States.

“Since the day I arrived I’ve tried to repay the things that brought me here,” she said.

Organizers Sturman and Abouaf said the festival was intended to highlight the similarities among Jews from different countries. And food booths celebrated some of their differences as well, with dishes from South American kosher hot dogs to sugar candies from Iran.

In the campus courtyard, Pari Djourabchi, who came to the United States 12 years ago from Iran, said Sunday’s festival united Jews who otherwise might not socialize.

“This is a very nice feeling we have here today,” Djourabchi said. “Today you can see Jews from everywhere. We are among our people.”