Vice President Walter Mondale said yesterday that imprisoned Soviet Jewish activist Anatoly Shcharansky and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov should be considered as among the 36 righteous men Jewish legend says must be alive in order for the world to survive.
Mondale made this statement to the 600 delegates to the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League’s annual meeting here after they heard a sobbing Natalia Shcharansky plead, “Mr. Vice President, friends, help me to win my husband’s freedom.”
Mrs. Shcharansky, who had to leave the Soviet Union a day after she married Shcharansky, received a standing ovation led by Mondale after she declared that she wants “only for my husband and me to be in Jerusalem to begin our Jewish family.”
Responding at the ceremony at which Shcharansky and Sakharov, a Nobel Laureate, were awarded in absentia the ADL’s annual Joseph Prize for human rights, Mondale promised that he would “personally report” to President Carter on Mrs. Shcharansky’s appeal. Shcharansky has been imprisoned since March and it is feared he may be brought to trial soon on charges of treason. The Joseph Prize consists of $5000 and a medal.
Mondale said Mrs. Shcharansky’s “eloquent and moving plea for social justice,” spoke to the “heart of the human rights issue.” He said the U.S. was “committed to advancing the cause of human rights throughout the world.” But he stressed that this commitment was not aimed at any country, ideology or political philosophy.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
