Isai and Grigory Goldstein, two Soviet Jewish refuseniks from Tbilisi who recently arrived in Israel after being denied exit visas for more than 14 years, said here that efforts on behalf of Soviet Jewry in the United States must be coordinated and concentrated in order to be effective.
The two computer scientists said in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that they feel there are “too many organizations, groups and newspapers” involved with the campaign to assist Soviet Jews, and as a result, a lot of effort and energy is wasted. They suggested instead the formation of a central organization to coordinate all efforts for Soviet Jewry.
Noting that the Soviet authorities are “very sensitive to public opinion and public pressure in the United States,” the 48-year-old Isai Goldstein declared:” It is necessary to increase the public pressure on the Soviet Union to enable more Jews to receive exit visas.
“In my opinion,” he continued, “the United States should link any negotiations with the Soviet Union, and especially the up-coming summit meeting between President Reagan and (Soviet leader Mikhail) Gorbachev with the issue of Soviet Jewry.”
URGES QUIET DIPLOMACY
But Isai’s brother, 55-year-old Grigory, said that in addition to public campaigns, “quiet diplomacy” should also be used to help the Jewish dissident movement in the Soviet Union. “In fact” Grigory said, “we were given permission to leave the Soviet Union after the intervention of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D. Mass.), who urged Gorbachev to let us go.”
A few days after Kennedy’s appeal to the Soviet leader, Isai and Grigory Goldstein were called to the Ovir, the Soviet visa office, and were issued an exit visa. On April 18, they arrived in Israel with their families.
It was some 14 years earlier, they recalled in the JTA interview, that they applied for an exit visa to go to the Jewish State. “Our applications were refused on the grounds that as computer scientists we were in possession of state secrets,” Isai said. “And the KGB told us that people like us, who possess state secrets, cannot leave the USSR for at least five years.”
PLACED ON SOVIET BALCK LIST
But even after five years, the Goldsteins were refused exit visas, and in 1977, Isai said, “we were placed on the black list of Soviet refuseniks” who, he charged, “are used by the Soviet Union as bargaining chips in its dealings with the West.”
While they were waiting for their visa approvals, the Goldsteins were subjected to arbitrary arrests and other forms of harassment. They said that they were supported by friends and had a small income from giving private lessons in computer science.
The two brothers said that the fact the Soviets let some Jews emigrate should not distract the public in the West from the real situation of Soviet Jews. “Jews in the Soviet Union continue to be suppressed and restricted. When the Soviets release one Jew they immediately arrest another one,” Isai said. “They want to keep the balance even.”
Isai, who is married and has one child, and Grigory, who is single, live in an absorption center in Ramat Aviv, a suburb of Tel Aviv. They arrived in the U.S. last month for a four week lecture four week lecture four under the sponsorship of several organizations on behalf of Soviet Jewry.
They said that in Georgla, where their family had its roots for more than 100 years, there are about 28,000 Jews. “We believe that if the soviet authorities decided suddenly to open the gates to anyone who wishes to leave and go to Israel, at least 20,000 Jews will immediately come to Israel,” the Goldsteins said.
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.
