A Soviet Jewish emigrant now living in Israel told an overflow audience at a rally for Soviet Jewry last night that his brother, a world renowned Soviet physicist, is being harassed by Soviet authorities because he, too, wants to emigrate to Israel, Dr. Ishal Branover, who went to Israel six months ago with his wife and 23-year-old daughter, said at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center that his 40-year-old brother, Prof. Herman Branover, is currently hiding to avoid arrest on charges of hitting a four-year-old Russian girl with a car.
Dr. Branover, an economic scientist, said the charges against his brother are not valid but were brought against him because of his desire to leave the Soviet Union with his wife and 8-year-old daughter. The economist is in the United States to gather support in scientific circles for his brother. During last night’s rally, numerous phone calls were placed to Soviet Jews in Moscow and Riga. But in each case, the operator informed the callers that “there is no answer.” This has been the pattern since President Nixon arrived in Moscow. Before then, calls were put through. The rally was sponsored by the Oceanfront Council for Soviet Jewry.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
