Exit visas were granted to 146 Soviet Jews in February, compared to 98 in January, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry reported. Of these, 29 went to Israel, according to the Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry.
NCSJ chairman Morris Abram expressed hope “that this slight increase could be the beginning of a series of steps that would lead to the release of the 11,000 long-term refuseniks, some of whom have been waiting for more than 15 years, as well as the processing of approximately 370,000 others who, we know, also seek to be repatriated to Israel.
“We also hope that the remaining Jewish Prisoners of Conscience will be freed and that they, and all former Prisoners of Conscience will be allowed to leave for Israel. Then, and only then, will we be certain that the oft-used word ‘glasnost’ (openness) has a literal meaning where human rights are concerned.”
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