Eliahu Essas of Moscow, often referred to as “the spiritual father of Hebrew teachers” in the Soviet Union, his wife and three children have received exit visas for Israel after 12 years of trying to emigrate. Essas, a mathematician who first applied for visas in 1973, is expected to leave the Soviet Union within a few weeks.
According to the World Jewish Congress, the decision to grant Essas an exit visa was made known to the WJC during the summit meeting between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev last month in Geneva. A senior Soviet official contacted WJC president Edgar Bronfman with the news that Essas would I be given permission to leave. “We have received an official cable from Moscow with a positive response to your request,” the diplomat told Bronfman.
Bronfman, the first WJC president officially received in Moscow last September, met with Essas there and requested his release in meetings with Soviet officials.
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