I would like to take a few moments to mark the case of Boris Chernobilsky. a Soviet refusenik and former Prisoner of Conscience. Last week my office received word that Mr. Chernobilsky and his family have been given permission by Soviet authorities to emigrate to Israel. As Yogi Berra once said. I have a feeling of deja vu all over again. Because Mr. Chernobilsky has received this information twice before. and yet he and his family remain stuck in the Soviet Union. I am hopeful. but still skeptical. that this time the news of his emigration is for real. Boris Chernobilsky could serve as a case study on the refusenik Issue. For over 12 years. Chernobilsky. who is a radio electronics engineer from Moscow. has sought to emigrate to Israel with his wife and children. During this period. he suffered greatly at the hands of Soviet authorities. Over the years. he was fired from his job. served a prison sentence in a labor camp on a trumpedup charge. and was repeatedly harassed by agents of the KGB for his activities on behalf of other refuseniks.
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emigrate emigration