Ida Nudel, the Jewish refusenik who has been denied an exit visa to emigrate to Israel since 1972, celebrated her 53rd birthday last Friday in her exile city of Bendery. But unlike recent previous years, when she marked her birthdays in solitude, she had a guest this time: actress Jane Fonda.
“We were the first Westerners to have visited her in six years,” Fonda said in a press conference at the Hilton Hotel yesterday, two hours after she returned from a five-day trip to the Soviet Union. She was accompanied to the USSR by her press secretary, Stephen Rivers, and a Los Angeles attorney, Marshall Grossman, who is familiar with Soviet law.
Fonda said she went to the Soviet Union to meet with Nudel and to try to discuss her case with Soviet officials. She said that while she was in Moscow, she met with V. V. Kuznetsov, head of Ovir, the Soviet emigration agency, and asked for Nudel to be allowed to emigrate to Israel to be reunited with her sister, Elena Fridman, who lives in Jerusalem.
The Soviet official said that Nudel’s case is an “internal affair” and that it is not different than many other cases, Fonda said.
The world famous actress, who has been taking a personal interest in Nudel’s case since 1980, after she met with Nudel’s sister in Jerusalem, said that she and her escorts spent three days with Nudel. Fonda said Nudel lives alone in a simple, “very small” house with her dog.
‘A WOMAN OF GREAT COURAGE’
“Ida Nudel is a woman whose case has deeply touched my heart, a woman of great courage and determination. She has risked much to stand up to the Soviet authorities, to practice her faith and to celebrate her Jewish heritage. She continues to be a source of spiritual support for many other refuseniks and Prisoners of Conscience,” Fonda stated.
Fonda said that her visit gave Nudel “strength and the proof that she is not forgotten.” According to Fonda, Nudel told her that the visit made her “safe” and will probably prevent the Soviet authorities from harassing her.
VOWS TO CONTINUE ON BEHALF OF SOVIET JEWRY
Fonda vowed to continue her activity on behalf of Soviet Jewry in general and Nudel in particular. She stated: “Those of us who speak and work for peace and for a climate of better relations between the two superpowers cannot turn a blind eye to the abuse of human rights in the Soviet Union, abuses which are unworthy of a powerful nation. I plead, in the name of peace, for a relaxing of restrictions on Soviet Jews who wish to emigrate, and for a humanitarian gesture towards Ida Nudel. “
Nudel’s sister also participated in yesterday’s press conference. In brief remarks she thanked Fonda for her efforts on behalf of Nudel, and said that the actress’ trip to the Soviet Union has made her hopeful regarding her sister’s case.
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