NJ. has also suffered. Gennady. his wife. Natasha. and their two children are all refuseniks. having first applied for an exit visa in 1976 and been denied permission to go. As a result of their application. Gennady. once a prominent mathematician. and his wife. a computer programmer. are both unemployed. Their troubles did not stop with the loss of their jobs. The KGB has repeatedly searched their house. confiscating various religious articles and Hebrew publications. They have also taken various legal documents such as Natashas emigration invitation from Israel and her identity card. Natasha. who has taken over Ida Nudels role as the "Guardian Angel" of Jewish Prisoners of Conscience. has been beaten at a number of womens demonstrations and is the subject of constant KGB harassment. The Khassins were even arrested for attending a memorial service at Babi Yar. the site of one of the largest mass murders by the Nazis. In the Soviet Union. it is apparently a crime to recite the Kaddish. the Jewish prayer for the dead. at the grave of thousands of slaughtered Jews. The Congregation BNai Israel of Rumson is to be commended for their fine work on behalf of the Khassin family. While Yuli Edelshtein and the Khassin family are wellknown Soviet refuseniks. the Soviets are no more lenient with average citizens whose only crime is wanting to practice their religion or emigrate from the Soviet Union. Alexey and Nyusa Ostrirov. their son Efim. his wife. and their two children. whose relatives live in New Jersey. are perfect examples. They are neither dissidents nor prisoners of conscience. They have broken no laws nor participated in any demonstrations. Yet for no discernible reason. they have twice been denied exit visas from the Soviet Union. Since 1975. the Ostrlrovs have been trying to emigrate. in vain. Unfortunately. the plights of the Edelshteins. the Khassins. and the Ostrirovs typify those of countless other Soviet Jews who yearn for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. Discrimination by the Soviets against Jews who desire to practice their faith cannot be tolerated.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visas visa