Jewish dissident Josif Begun was convicted on charges of producing and distributing antiSoviet literature and sentenced to 7 years in jail and 5 years of internal exile. This is the latest and most extreme example of the Soviets history of persecution of Begun. Begun. who has relatives in Israel. has been denied an exit visa for 13 years due to his persistence in publicly upholding his Jewish heritage. Years ago. while achieving prominence in the field of technical sciences. Begun taught himself Hebrew and subsequently fought for legalization of Hebrew teaching. In 1971. realizing the futility of his demands. he applied for an exit visa but was denied on grounds of alleged possession of "state secrets"-apparently the result of his association with the Moscow Central Research Institute. After his visa rejection. Begun was fired from his post and forced to work as a telephone operator and later as a night watchman while secretly continuing to tutor young students in Hebrew. On March 3. 1977 Begun was arrested and charged with "parasitism." Shortly thereafter. he embarked on a hunger strike that lasted more than 100 days. but was forcefed every 3 days.