25 More Soviet Jews Granted Visas; 75 Jewish Families Arrive in Israel

Twenty-five more Soviet Jews were granted exit visas today without having to pay the excessive tax levied on educated citizens seeking to emigrate, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry reported. Yesterday, visas were granted to 30 Jews, including activists Roman Rutman and Gavriel Shapiro and Mikhail Kliachkin. There were no activists in today’s group, the NCSJ said according to its informants in the Soviet Union.

Jewish activists in Moscow believe, however, that the visas granted today may be the last given without payment of the education head tax, the NCSJ said. The activists reported that no other Jews have received word to report to the Ovir (visa office) indicating that the issuance of visas may be over for the time being. Other sources expressed the hope that the Ovir may only be delaying visas in order to catch up on its backlog of paper work, the NCSJ said.

The Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry reported today that two more Soviet Jewish activists were given permission to leave the USSR without paying the head tax. The two were Vladimir Zaslovsky. 43, a biologist, and Leonid Yoffee, a Hebrew teacher in Moscow.

(Sources in Jerusalem reported today that 75 more Jewish families have arrived from the Soviet Union without having paid the head tax. They said the release of these and other families was no cause for rejoicing because the Soviet authorities have still not abrogated the tax and are in fact requiring other families to pay it. According to the sources, the Soviet relaxation of the tax requirements for some emigrants indicated that Moscow is sensitive to public opinion and is trying to take the sting out of the widespread protests against the visa tax.)