Soviet refusenik Ida Nudel believes that she and other long-time refuseniks are being used by the Soviet leadership as bargaining chips for future East-West negotiations.
Nudel acknowledged that more exit visas are being granted to Soviet Jews, but is pessimistic about her own chances of receiving a visa soon. She was interviewed Thursday by JTA Bonn correspondent David Kantor, who is accompanying West German President Richard Von Weizsacker on his visit to the Soviet Union.
Nudel has been denied a visa on grounds that she is privy to state secrets. She worked years ago for a scientific institute doing microbiological research. “The only secret I know is that the Soviet Union is 100 years behind the U.S. and Japan in microbiology,” she told the reporters. Israel Television broadcast part of an interview its European correspondent, Yisrael Segal, had with refusenik Iosif Begun at his Moscow apartment Wednesday night.
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