Ukrainian dissident and human rights activist Jozef Zissels was born in Tashkent, Uzbekstan into the Chisinau family of  WWII evacuees . He spent his early years in Chernitvsi  where he got a degree in physics from local university.

After mandatory service in the Soviet Army in early 1970s,  Zissels joined the public campaign advocating immigration rights of Soviet Jews. His campaigning got him expulsion from Komsomol, youth wing of the Communist party and eventually led to his arrest in 1978 for his dissident activities.

The young human rights activist who by then joined Ukrainian Helsinki Group was twice sentenced to prison for ‘anti-Soviet slander’ in 1970s and 1980s.

In 1987, Zissels he said no to a pardon offered to him by Soviet regime officials under the condition he  quitted  his dissident campaigns.

Two years later, he co-founded Vaad Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine and until now has remained one of its leaders.

In 2019, he became an advisor to Rukh Opory Kapitulatsiii public group that leads pro-European public campaigns.

Apart from his vocal pro-Ukrainian advocacy efforts , Josef Zissels  is also known as a prominent face of opposition to the project of  Babyn Yar memorial complex funded by Russian oligarchs.