A seven-year struggle for permission to leave the Soviet Union ended with the joyous, tearful reunion of Leningrad refusnik felix Aronovich with his family at O’Hare International Airport here Sunday. Greeted by his wife, Alla, who left the USSR in 1976, their three-year-old son David whom he had never seen, his mother, Lubov Dinenzon and his brother, Victor, Aronovich smiled and wept as they embraced.
Also at the airport to share in the family’s joy were representatives of the Jewish United Fund (JUF) of Chicago, State Attorney Bernard Carey and Jean Merle, an aide of Rep. Sidney Yates (D.III.). Yates, Sen. Charles Percy ( R. III.) and Carey had been instrumental in advancing-Aronovich’s efforts to secure an exit visa, They Worked closely with David Smerling, president of the JUF and the Jewish Federation, James P. Rice, executive vice president and the JUF’s public affairs committee. Their efforts also helped expedite U.S. entry requirements so that Aronovich, who left the Soviet Union on May 14, was able to fly directly from Vienna to Chicago, avoiding lengthy processing in Rome. In that endeavor they had the close cooperation of HIAS.
At an impromptu airport press conference, Aronovich, 48, said he had no idea why he was finally granted freedom by the Soviet authorities while so many others still seek exit visas in vain. “Emigration is like a game,” he said. ” Nobody knows the end of the game. I am here but my friends are still there.
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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.
