Most synagogues have been closed. worshippers threatened and religious practices suppressed. study of Hebrew and possession of Hebrew books are criminal offenses. and Jews suffer discrimination in higher education. This is in marked contrast to the treatment of other national minorities whose languages and cultures are studied with relative freedom. But what makes the Soviet leaders immeasurably worse than the Czars is their policy on emigration. One would have expected that. like the Czars. they would want to rid themselves of these "undesirables." Prom the time of the pogroms of the 1880s until the eve of World War I. more than two million Jews were allowed to leave. In contrast. the Soviet authorities bar Jews from leaving. discriminate against and punish them. Why? Perhaps the notion that anyone would prefer the "decadent" West to the "workers paradise" is seen as a dangerous heresy. Perhaps the authorities fear that if Jews were granted the right to emigrate. other minorities would demand it. too. Moscow did temporarily open the gates. allowing more than 250.000 Jews to leave between 1968 and 1979. But since then. the flood of emigrants has been reduced to a trickle. and. despite Mr. Shcharanskys release. there is so far no sign of a thaw. Many of the 400.000 Jews who have taken the first step in the arduous emigration procedure. by requesting invitations from relatives abroad. have been threatened with harassment. Those who have applied for exit visas and been turned downthere are 15.000 such "refusenicks"-are dismissed from their jobs. publicly vilified. physically assaulted. confined in mental institutions and arrested on fabricated charges. Yet the spirit of Soviet Jews remains indomitable. Mr.
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