The widow of Peretz Markish, the Soviet Jewish writer purged by Stalin, has appealed directly to President Georges Pompidou of France to intervene to help her and her son secure emigration visas so that they can join relatives in Israel, Jewish sources in the USSR reported today. They said Mrs. Esther Markish sent a cable to President Pompidou who is currently playing host to visiting Soviet Communist Party Secretary Leonid Brezhnev.
She appealed for his help on the grounds of her husband’s literary works and her own contribution to France-Soviet relations as a translator and interpreter. Mrs. Markish and her son David have been seeking exit permits for several years. Two weeks ago they were told that their visas would be ready on Oct. 25 but no visas were issued to them on that date. When they visited the central visa office in Moscow they were told by the Red Army general in charge that their case was postponed and would be given a re-hearing after two months. The Markishes had begun to dismantle their home in anticipation of leaving the USSR.
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