Aleksandr Voronel, the prominent Soviet Jewish physicist who, after a long struggle, was allowed to leave for Israel at the beginning of this year, called yesterday upon scientists in the West to exert pressure on the Soviet government not to persecute Jewish and non-Jewish dissident scientists in the USSR. Addressing a press conference at the Commodore Hotel here, sponsored by the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Voronel noted that the Soviets “gain more” than the U.S. from the Scientific Exchange Program which was signed in 1972. In view of this, he added, American scientists are in a position to exert pressure on the Soviets with regard to the plight of Jewish scientists in the USSR. He stressed, however, that Western scientists should not break all contacts with the Soviets.
Voronel said that members of the weekly scientific seminar in Moscow, established three years ago by scientists who were rejected by the official Soviet structure and which presently consists of some 50 scientists, are subject to stepped-up pressure and harassment by the authorities. Voronel and his wife, Nina, arrived here Monday from Israel. His visit in the United States is sponsored jointly by the Committee of Concerned Scientists and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. (By Yitzhak Rabi)
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.
