Anatoly Shcharansky told the Knesset Monday that he and his wife, Avital, plan to visit the United States in the near future and would not be deterred by Soviet ” extortion.”
He was referring to reports–which he said he was not entirely sure were correct–of Soviet threats to cut off even the present trickle of Jewish emigration should he and his wife go on what the Kremlin labels an “anti-Soviet” trip to the U.S. He said he would cancel the trip only if the Soviets open the gates in the next few months to allow all Jews who wish to leave for Israel to do so.
The 38-year-old aliya activist who came to Israel February II after nine years in the Soviet Gulag addressed Knesset members at a reception held in his honor. He carefully steered clear of politics, specifically whether he leaned to Labor or Likud.
‘OUR LINK WAS … TO THE ENTIRE NATION’
“For us in the USSR, the Knesset was the symbol of the Jewish nation’s unity,” Shcharansky said. “This may disappoint some people …. But our link was not to Labor or to Likud but to the entire nation. Just as Moses of old was entrusted by God to convey to Pharaoh the message ‘Let My People Go’, so, too, today, the Knesset is entrusted with conveying the same message to Gorbachev and the modern-day Pharaohs.”
He stressed that it was important therefore for the Knesset to devote time to a discussion of the condition of Soviet Jewry. It would be a great boost to the morale of Jews inside the USSR, he said.
The reception at the Knesset was Shcharansky’s first public appearance since the tumultuous welcome he received when he arrived in Israel nearly two months ago. For the past month, he and his wife were vacationing in northern Israel, out of the public eye. This gave rise to rumors that he was ill.
APPEARS QUITE FIT
But he appeared quite fit Monday–though Avital was absent, reportedly not feeling well. He recently underwent a series of medical examinations and tests by Dr. Mervyn Gotsman, a prominent Jerusalem cardiologist. In fact, Shcharansky’s only health problem appears to be dental. His teeth deteriorated during nearly a decade in Soviet prisons and labor camps and he recently started an intensive course of treatment at Hadassah Hospital’s dental clinic.
Friends of Shcharansky said the couple plans to visit the U.S. in May and will meet with President Reagan at the White House and with members of Congress; also with Mayor Edward Koch in New York. Afterwards, they will tour the U.S. to address Soviet Jewry groups all over the country, the friends said.
It will be Shcharansky’s first trip to the U.S. His wife was there many times during his nine years in prison to mobilize official and public support for his release. She met with Reagan and Congressional leaders on those occasions.
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