In December 1961, the conference hall in Tel Aviv, where the Communist Party of Israel was holding a meeting, became the scene of dramatic events. Shmuel Mikunis, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Israel, whose name was well-known in the Kremlin's corridors, took the podium. His words thundered like a bolt from the blue: "Two of my brothers were killed in the Soviet Union during Stalin's time." This speech, filled with pain and determination, instantly stirred up the hall. The noise grew like a wave, overwhelming the meeting. Many party members, still devoted to Stalinist ideals, could not and would not accept this bitter truth. For them, criticism of Stalin was akin to betrayal.

For Mikunis himself, this speech was not just his confession but also a logical continuation of the course set by the 22nd Congress of the CPSU. During this congress, Khrushchev and his associates finally renounced Stalinism. Mikunis, trying to explain recent changes in Soviet policy to those gathered, stated that he himself knew nothing about the crimes of the personality cult era and the death of his brothers.

One of Shmuel Mikunis's brothers killed by the Stalinist regime was named Joseph (Ios-Daniel). Joseph Mikunis was born on August 7, 1887, in the town of Polonnoye in Ukraine. Besides Joseph and Shmuel, there was another brother – Aaron, and daughters [Genya and Buzya (and others, there were 9 children in total)]. Their father, Israel Mikunis, was a Hasid from Trisk. He tried to instill a strictly religious worldview in his children. However, the youth had no intention of living the old way, completely departing from the established way of life.

Having received a traditional Jewish education, Joseph Mikunis began his working life during tsarist rule, working as a teacher in a public school. In 1913, he married a local girl, Tuba Ovshievna (Taube Evseevna) Gelfer. Three years later, their daughter Rachel (Rina) was born.

World War I and its aftermath brought serious changes to the Mikunis family's life. In Polonnoye, as everywhere in Ukraine during those years, the Jewish population found itself between a rock and a hard place. In 1918, Joseph's father was nearly killed right in front of his family. A dashing Cossack patrolling the town, upon seeing an elderly Hasid, instantly drew his saber. Fortunately, Israel Mikunis was standing under an awning, so the raised saber, after scraping against the wood, only left a shallow wound when it struck the old man.

It was difficult to feed the family in the post-revolutionary years, so Joseph Mikunis changed his profession and became an accountant. He first worked in various artisan cooperatives in Polonnoye, and in 1925 he got a job at a faience factory, where he worked for the next ten years. In the same year, Joseph and Tuba Mikunis had a son – Samson (Semyon).

In all his workplaces, Joseph Izrailevich was known as an honest, modest, and responsible employee, receiving only commendations from management. In 1935, Mikunis was even promoted and transferred to Vinnitsa, where he took the position of head of the financial department of the Regional Light Industry Administration.

Joseph Izrailevich's life changed tragically on the night of May 1-2, 1938, when NKVD officers came for him. His family still considers this date a day of mourning. Apparently, the basis for Joseph Mikunis's arrest was a report written by Naftul Fuks, an operational officer of the 4th Department of the UGB NKVD for the Vinnitsa region. The Chekist justified the need to take Mikunis into custody by claiming that he was allegedly a member of an underground Zionist committee in Kamenets-Podolsky.

Another report, compiled by Fuks's immediate superiors, the head of the 4th Department Senior Lieutenant Nadezhdin and the head of the Vinnitsa NKVD Korablev, contained more detailed accusations. According to the document, Joseph Mikunis was allegedly an active participant in a right-wing anti-Soviet Zionist organization called "Hechalutz." It was claimed that in 1932, on orders from this organization's Central Committee, he began work on reviving the underground Zionist network and uniting old Zionist cadres.

Joseph Mikunis did indeed belong to the Zionist movement, but this was in his youth. During his only interrogation on May 10, 1938, Mikunis admitted that he was a member of the "Allgemein-Zion" ("General Zionists") party – but this was during 1910-1917. According to him, he actively participated in fundraising for the building of Palestine, which had to be suspended after the October Revolution.

When the Poles came to Polonnoye, this work resumed. Mikunis and other Polonnoye Zionists raised money by organizing paid evening events, lotteries, and "shekel sales" – a symbolic contribution to the Zionist movement. In 1921, his younger brother Shmuel, who was also determined to tie his life to Eretz Israel, managed to leave for Mandatory Palestine. However, Joseph Izrailevich, being a family man, couldn't do the same.

Zionists continued to play a significant role in Polonnoye for several more years until 1924 when, along with others, Joseph Mikunis was detained by OGPU. They were soon released but were forced to sign a declaration renouncing Zionism.

After these events, Joseph Izrailevich actually completely withdrew from political activity. However, his archival investigation file paints a different picture. According to the investigation, Mikunis maintained close ties with former movement colleagues. During meetings with Leib Gekhman, Zeidl Balk, and Joseph Falis, he allegedly spoke critically about Soviet government policies. In 1927-1928, according to investigation documents, Mikunis and his associates launched extensive work aimed at countering Soviet government plans for Jewish employment in the USSR. A key aspect of this campaign was agitation against Jewish resettlement to Birobidzhan. In their speeches, they allegedly characterized the Birobidzhan project as an adventure that could lead to the death of the Jewish population.

According to them, Jews were being sent to the Far East to be used as human shields against Japanese expansion. To counter this government policy, the Zionists didn't limit themselves to just agitation among potential settlers. They also attempted to establish a branch of their organization directly in Birobidzhan, seeking to expand their influence in the new location as well.

According to investigation materials, in 1932, a meeting of Zionists took place at Joseph Mikunis's apartment. The meeting was allegedly initiated by Mikunis himself and his comrade Joseph Falis. Besides them, the meeting was attended by Leib Gekhman, Zeidl Balk, and Aron Mikunis, Joseph's brother. The meeting was led by Leizer Malevanny, whom the investigation identified as an instructor of the underground Zionist Central Committee.
According to Mikunis's "testimony," he and Joseph Falis proposed at the meeting to intensify Zionist activities by exploiting the country's food situation. The investigation materials claim that an underground committee was formed at the meeting, aimed at conducting anti-Soviet agitation among the Jewish population. The interrogation protocol stated that the committee's practical activities involved conducting agitation among "declassed elements" and workers of the "Pishcheprom" and "Kozhprom" artels.

Joseph Falis confirmed this story, telling investigators that in 1933, Joseph Mikunis indeed headed the Zionist committee in Polonnoye. Falis also claimed that after Joseph Mikunis's departure to Vinnytsia in 1935, leadership of the Zionist organization in Polonnoye passed to his brother Aron.