I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Iosif Mendelevich. a Soviet prisoner of conscience for over 10 years who left for Israel in February following his release from prison. Mr. Mendelevich is honored as a courageous individual who stood up to the injustices of the Soviet system throughout his incarceration and exemplifies that perserverance can be rewarded. in terms of offers in the Soviet Union who wish to emigrate but cannot and those people who worked diligently to gain Mendelevichs release from prison. The imprisonment of Iosif Mendelevich along with 10 others followed the infamous Leningrad trial of December 1970. which alerted the world for the first time to the plight of the Jews in the Soviet Union. On that date in 1970. 11 young Soviet Jews were brought to trial in a closed courtroom on charges of treason. Their crime was a longing to emigrate to Israel. The group had planned a flight to Scandinavia and freedom. but were arrested before ever reaching their plane. The 11 were found guilty in a farcical trial and sentenced to penalties ranging from death to 4 years in prison.
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