Three Moscow refuseniks held an unofficial press conference in the Soviet capital last week to refute claims by the authorities that only a few Jews desire to emigrate from the USSR, the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry reported here today.
The trio are Boris Klotz, a 34-year-old mathematician; Victor Fulmacht, 39, a computer engineer; and Lev Tukachinsky, 35, an engineer. All have been refused exit visas for a combined total of 11 years.
Fulmacht asserted that “We decisively disagree with the authorities’ version” that only a trickle of emigration applicants seek visas. Klotz said “a large number of people have been told they’re refused because of the bad relations between East and West.” He said others are simply informed that their application” is not appropriate,” the SSSJ reported. According to the SSSJ, 400,000 Russian Jews presently hold “invitation” documents from Israel which are required to begin the application process. But they are prevented from using them.
The SSSJ reported that Klotz’s son has been denied treatment of a serious eye infection because his family are refuseniks. Tukachinsky has never seen his daughter who was born in Israel after his pregnant wife, Elena, was allowed to emigrate in 1981.
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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.
