Few Americans are sufficiently aware of the reality of terror and intimidation which haunts the daily lives of the Jewish citizens of the Soviet Union. Discrimination by the Soviet Government against its Jewish citizens has long been a tragic fact of life. but in recent months the oppression has dramatically increased in scope and in magnitude. It has become obvious that the pressure and restrictions directed at Soviet Jews are greater now than at any previous time since the inception of the movement of Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel. - : It is common knowledge that Soviet Jewish citizens who applied for exit visas have in the past been harassed and intimidated. dismissed from their jobs. prosecuted under Soviet law. forced to suffer abuses and indignities. and required to raise a significant sum in economic ransom before they could leave the country. Recently when I was in Israel I had the opportunity to talk to a number of these emigrants and they related in stark detail the horror of their lives once it became known to Soviet authorities that they wanted to leave the country. In spite of these sanctions. and in the face of a shameful silence on the part of most of the world. the Jews somehow suffered the indignities. survived the intimidation and harassment. raised the ransom. and. when they were able. left the country. But in August of this year. the Soviet Government imposed an educational ransom which exponentially increases the price for those Jews who wish to emigrate. This ransom has an overwhelming impact upon the educated Jews who wish to leave Soviet Russia. Its impact is felt especially by scientists.
Keywords matched
emigrate visas emigrants