President Reagan spoke to Anatoly Shcharansky and his wife, Avital, by telephone at Ben Gurion Airport Tuesday evening. Premier Shimon Peres put through the call to the White House to thank the President for his help in gaining freedom for the Soviet Jewish Prisoner of Conscience.
"Mazel tov," Reagan said when Peres handed the phone to Shcharansky, who then passed it on to his wife to receive the President’s good wishes. Both gave their thanks. Peres said he also planned to thank Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany for his part in Tuesday’s prisoner exchange that brought Shcharansky his freedom.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
