Lev Roitburd and his family are finally at home. In recent days. the Soviet Union has displayed what might be regarded as a good will gesture. We have witnessed a sudden increase of exit visas issued to Soviet Jews. and Iosef Mendelevich. one of the three remaining defendants of the 1971 Leningrad trials. was released. It is difficult to predict what this means for the future. It certainly appears to confirm the familiar Soviet pattern of bartering with human lives. We still face a great challenge in trying to keep open the emigration spout for Soviet Jews. Recently. the Soviet Union imposed severe restrictions. making it extremely difficult for Soviet Jews to submit applications for exit visas. These restrictions require that all immediate members of the emigrating family must be willing to leave the Soviet Union. that. if denied. a 1year waiting period prior to reapplication must be observed. and that applicants must submit an invitation from an immediate relative residing in Israel. There has been a sharp decline in the numbers of Jews allowed to emigrate since 1979. In 1979. 51.000 Jews were permitted to leave compared to only 21.000 in 198030.000 fewer in a 1year period. The recent State Department report on human rights practices indicated that the drop may be due to the deterioration in EastWest relations and Soviet fears of a Jewish "brain drain." According to the reports estimations. there are still over 200.000 Jews now holding letters of invitation from Israel.
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emigrate emigration visas emigrating