Carmella. his wife. is a violinist with the Vilnius Symphony Orchestra. Although she has been able to keep her job on a parttime basis. she is not allowed to travel with the orchestra. has been demoted. and has been denied pay raises granted to the other members of the orchestra. Vladimir and Carmella were first refused the right to emigrate in 1973. At that time. the Soviets stated that Vladimir could not be allowed to leave because he had access to state secrets. Yet it was widely known that he was working on a project that was part of an international study of pepsin. and that the lab was receiving assistance from the West. Despite the fact that there were thus no compelling reasons to refuse his familys application. the Soviet again rejected the Raiz request in 1977. During the pendency of the Raiz application to emigrate. has the Soviet Government permitted Vladimir and Carmella Raiz and their children. Moshe and Shaul. to -lead a normal life? Tragically. the answer is "No." In addition to their employment troubles. the Raiz family is also denied the right to practice their Jewish faith without harassment.
Keywords matched
emigrate