·~C1uite ~:7f;~::;i:~ke an attempt to beJair and balanced ,but actually is
I",:"",'.'".:""::,·,',:,": ,'.'You see,Shifrai there is probably orne right on both sides of this , conflict. I would maintain, howey ,that this way of posing the , i'quest~on is in itself a distortion whic raises a false issue. There never SOV I ETDISSIDENT-"":,,,, ,",." ..".: really was an independent Jewish Student movement in North Ameri~a;:': The "establishment" has always intervened and the AND SOV,IET JEWS r, " American Zionist Youth Foundation can be proud that it was always ',in the vanguard of such intervention. If you check the record you W(II find that both Network and the Jewish Student Press Service are in' no sm'all. part results. of this type of intervention. It was a summer evening at the home o'f Moscow r. But that intervention was always based upon cuorrent moods on Alexandr Lerner. Seven Jewish activists and I relaxed ,hi :th,' e,il'ivi:'I~di':i:(!jt:i campus and current student ,attitudes - certainly not upon nostalgic room and enjoyed the soporifiC' after-effects of Mrs.' Le'rner's p(],ta:ito." •• 'Y~~;{r's;,3!ii::!?: ideological positions of another age that had no relevance to the lotkes and cabbage borscht. The atmosphere was' un"dou h tl=lcU'i/".:'i'''''\:(''':':''',ir.:fi1. , current, campus scene., An establishment that doesn't adjust its Soviet anomaly: small reproductions of Jerusalem's ',"Ch'alqall,','ii':':;'i::>}::i'S " approachan,d change with the times and that is not in touch with its windows" partially blocking the titles of ,Jewish texts,fn Gonstituency is doomed to fai lure. This, it seems to me, is the key bookcase, a proudly disp layed oi I painting, of Jewish activist ;:"~;~::':",I; '::,'i':'.".:::,>:,;':':;"':i;: '" issue underlying the recent history of Network and its old guard Shcharansky, a small. Israel i flag hanging on the wall and tileVoi:<:;e, 0t"'.;,):;(8:',,;,(;/;:;; "establishment." America playing in the background. "
If. you are still looking for balance, I suggest that you print the The meeting was arranged to discuss a particularissuewhi~h I'"i,.,:",i'.. ')i:i.i:,',·',:if::.::,\i:, , attached material along vvith this letter. I think that Eric's analysis is had been asking refusen iks about since I arrived in, M0scowt'~,"t"·,::,; !.i,'i':';:fA::.'j,i';' 'shared. by rmmy students that were present at the convention or that weeks earl ier. As I brought up the topic, the relaxed faces tux J.t":u; ...• ···".,;.:i:.'i:.i'.;~•. rk ,were familiar with Network from previous contact. I certainly agree intense and concerned. lilt's as if the KGB had planted'this··,.,r,l,:I:r:lC'.· with his basic analysis of the situation. movement," one activist said bitterly. The subjectshe: vvas, sPlea~~i'hlj:: .,>:.S;5;'i~r{ Thank you for asking me to write for RESPONSE. I hope that I of was not a bugging device or an agent provocateut,butth ,7:;,':T?o;;-;i.(,;:.\;i, will b~able to respond positively to such requests in the future. ~ver the involvement of Jewish activists with other 'dissiden ',', .. '.:.,.",., .... ".
, , B'vracha, d comm'ents during the next two hours reflecte.d their disappoin+ma ..... ' ..... Mike over some Western Jewish leaders' advocacy of a doctdne Whli.~fii;X't~C,:,·.:i·.:::::;1.;:;,~; impossible to adopt in the world of Soviet dissent, that(is, a.''f''t;:' ....,'.~~';):;:;.:::,,/:.: .. ,;:; between the Jewish movement and other dissenters.' " '" Zev Shank en, at the time in question, was an employee of AZYF and did not participate in ,the' editorial process on articles dealing with Network and AZYF. . At the discussion's end, the same refusenik eagerly: -Editors me.' "Now do you understand?" she said. After four m6re',We!$~~)i{i·Ej'.,::.:<::"::'!::;':;:;:Eir't:. the Soviet Union, I - with my Western mentality,- still co . fully grasp the subtleties of the refusenik-dissident relaiiOnshi'r:: r:~;:!lj,:uJj.·'>},:! my understanding of it had indeed grown. Although the· particular aim ot emigration move~ent unique, there is still collaboration betwee '. and other dissidents, especially .the Soviet DemocrMs. 'It:.eilr,(·rrlUtIU:§t
activities inc,lude legal G and scientific seminars,:aicJ :1'cJ;0"R:9q"tiE;~~J; prisoners and legal assistance to dissenters on '~ri'~'1 ,...... '"' ....,,; .. ,,~ the Democrats - do have in,terests which In times of crisis, some Jews dissenters even write appeals lr'ld refuseniks,. There are other. groups of Soviet . sign petitions in support of each ther. . as the Russian nationalists;" whose opposition to the Jewish activists. Shipwre ked . These "Russites" advocate the return to 'a naltJcmallJs'Uc HILl5 This r~ciprocal support has increased in the past two yearS. This ideology is usually linked ~.~ the concept of ~Jc:'trnqgr.tJ~o\irerrlrnet'i·t'~ Since the signing of the Helsinki Accord, various dissidents have had - anything from a monarchy to a proletarian . their. ,c.:aClses fall together with .those of others under the umbrella Samolvin's "Open Letter to Solzhenitsyn" is typical of m:~)st:'~!(J,ssii:1atl;,::;,;;i'·\I::t·,d';;·;:i';' . :issu,e of tlhuman rights" and therefore, have been able to work National ists' attitudes toward the Soviet Zionists' ~alllol\tllnr.dl~c;llaFE~$(: together in the monitoring of these rights. The Jewish activists have 1 that II Jews made the mess ( 1917 Revolution) a~d are n0W,'tf"V'inb:',tc separate aims from the other dissenters, yet cooperation between the get ou t. "4 ,.,:':',,'::, :,,':·, ..• ·,i!: ,+<,,;:~!/,/.>::i:i:":i:',!;,' Jews and other groups is inevitable. On the other hand, various elements' of, Before examining this complicated question of refusenik movement, from the true Marxist-Lenihists' to' the , Wc~stlerrl~t~('pe!',:,,:!;,~;i';:'t; involvement with other Soviet dissidents, we need to understand the democrats or Christian Sociali~ts, have been histori~aljy intertwj;jl'9cl'·'::'(i,,' to , , purpose of Soviet Jewish activism. The refuseniks are the antithesis with the Jewish movement. Because of the great number UI.J,t::'Wli:m;:'(ii···':;.· , of the Western concept of a movement. They have no common intellectuals and the Russian antagonism to Jewish political beliefs. Some are religious; some are completely assimilated Jews fell into oppositional ideologies such as that of the , into Russian society; and most are somewhere in between. Their " I n fact, some of the fi rst Soviet Zion ists;'suchas Edward ,'occupations can range from an office clerk to a microbiologist. And Roman Rutman and Alexandr Voronel,were originally their ages and geographical locations are just as diverse as their Voronel explains: vocations. Misha Nosovsky, a Leningrad Hebrew teacher who has While Jews make up only a tiny percentage of the general Soviet been waiting two ye'ars to leave the Soviet Union, compares the population, they account for well over half of the'diss.idehts 'i'i,.,·".,·',,··-,;:.'i"':';:'.hU.,j};!·,' , movement ~o a group of people who sail together on a boat and then Democrats) in the U.S,S.R. Non-Jews, in fact, are aniin'ority in get shipwrecked on an island; the only thing which they have in Democratic movement there. Most of the members are either common is their insularity.l The refuseniks' only uniform belief is or partly Jewish, and the majority, of the aliya' emigration to Israel) activists were at one their desire to leave the Soviet Union. Even their destination - Israel Democrats}.5 Or ~he United States - is a point of controversy. Sbme Jewish activists believe the promotion of Jewish culture Reciprocity between Jews and Dis~iderits i r1 ,theSoViet Union is just as important as emigration. In an attempt The first Zionists learned dissidenttechniqJes tbcounteract the government encouraged scarcity of Jewish Democratic friends. "They helped us' with ' " literature and religious material, Hebrew teachers in the larger cities (unofficial publications) and establishing c~ntacts conduct ulpanim despite constant police harassment. Other journalists," said Vladmir Slepak who' has been', iri , refuseriiksleadseminars on Biblical and Jewish history. However, the movement for over seven years. "Eventually,we eSl'anllsr1erIOlllrilhw'n';,i ; ;participants. in these culturally oriented studies are, with rare contacts and made our own samizdat."6 exceptions, Jews who have applied to leave the country. I ndeed, all Since the Democrats advocate civil ,of the teachers with whom I. spoke said that their pupils studied the 2 philosophy has obviously enc~mpassed the language and history to prepare for anticipated emigration. religion and emigration, Conseque'ntly, Soviet' Ilberc~ls;·h~lve.:;-oft€ini This particular purpose makes the individuals in the Jewish , aided the cause of the Jewish activists. The <,,:rnovernerlt ,distinct~rom most other Soviet dissidents. Only the has be.en Andrei Sakharov, who, h~s time and Turkish lYIeskhetians actively appeal to leave the well-known' name in support of the. Jews.' Most rec;eriiIY·,ij::i'e;;'s,efj't::t() fortheir hom,eland.But certain movements - most notably Voronel, originator of the first Moscow 's~~::I~:!,iC::I,~rJ~t:~~S,:,~~~~l;~;l . weste.r.'.n. ". d.ele~.ates .... a.t .. the B.e~rade. confe.r~nc,e. a telegram. the massrve house arrests f JewIsh actIvIsts In Moscow. 7 those who frequently took "part, ·for I'll
·,,·"·· .. 1· ... ," .. ,.,. been many others, such . Valery Chalidze and Vladimi.r arrested chairman of the Moscow Helsinki who have provided similar elp. Yuri Orlov. WhenelevE?n Western scientists trclvelecl:tl@:,iGIVIOiS.e()W:?:i The Democratic samizdat Chronicle of Current Events has also April, 1977 to participate in a special u~::~::~~;~~:2~:~~~1f"1:'~'~J,~:~I,~ given cc:>~siderableattention to the Jewish cause. Beginning with its Democrats including Andrei Sakharov wer,ein a1 . Any dissident can also gain from the refu~E:niks~ Je~al<.!;~rrl.ll\lc~r::S: sixth ·issue i~ 1968, The Chronicle described the arrest and trial of General surveys of international and Soviet ' ~ewish activist Boris Kochubeyevsky. 8 It subsequently reported various other cases of Soviet anti-Semitism and the harassment of germane to all forms and purposes ofdisserlt. Zi,onists, . Issue seventeen .(December 30, 1970) contained a special mostly Jews (at his law seminars), non-Jews alsQ attend; chapter called IIPersecution of Jews Wishing to Emigrate to Israel" Seigal, a Jewish attorney who. has been granted .. and fully reported the first Leningrad "hijack trial."9 The next issue but bravely continues to lead his Leningrad law· 'C"ar'nir'\·~I"'·,6,nt.ii:I':d:~.~~;ji: inc.luded a section titled "The Jewish Movement for Emigration to expiration of his exit visa's maximum timeAimit.l 6 Israel."lo The Chronicle became the first Soviet-based medium Since Democrats and refuseniks encounter where Jewish problems could be given extensive documentation. legal problems, both of their dealings with the law mutual assistance. F or example, contacts with attorneys ~!li~'~~'f:!)Jii)~(Ci~;i;i:~'!~j\:' But Democrats are not the only dissidents who have raised their wi II ing to take the risk of defending a political or religious d voices for the Jews. No expression of concern has been more moving are often made through Democrats. Dina Beilina, than the address by Ukrainian Nationalist Ivan Dzuba at the Babi Yar refusenik who aids Jews during their trials, found a commemoration on September 29, 1966 where he appealed to the Anatoly Shcharansky through her communiques with the Moscow Democratic movement.! '7 The lawyer Soviet authorities to: 'II Let the Jews know Jewish history, Jewish ,'I culture and language, and be proud of them."!! In 1968 a statement who was eventually disbarred because of her , by fifty Crimean Tatars, demanding that they be allowed to go to previously defended such well-known dissenters as 1 Marchenko, Vladimir Bukovsky, Pavel Litvinov, "ya Ga'bai,o,.,.'u,."",I.,' .. I:.HI."";,::.\.".",::,,,,:,."i·"I'h Israel, was a sign of sympathy and support of the Jewish cause. 2 On . March 20,1977, fifty Soviet Pentacostals issued an appeal to , Galanskov . , I n Moscow mutual contacts with foreign' . Chri,sti'ans around the world to aid the struggle of Soviet Jewry.1 :1 • sometimes present a situation for interaction~' In ,. Such diver~ebacking for the Jews is essen~ial because it places their years dissidents have not needed to work together . ,concerns in the broader context of civil liberties, and therefore, helps . to attract Western support from Jews and non-Jews alike. the refuseniks eventually developed their own However, some dissidents and Jewish activis'ts :still recio['ocatE!.,fai.vorsi.h{./':;iill' ,Jewish activists reciprocate this support in a broad gamut of such as translating interviews. Because of mutualqctivities, Educational sem inars, pol itical trials contacts with Shcharansky interpreted for many Democrats such as ·Western Journalists, social isolation and political prisoners are all Less tangible but no less significant is. the fr'i, e'n(js~li·Po.t)E~t'JI:,een,:;;C;t;i concerns which necessitate interaction between different dissident some JeWish activists and Democrats. "-If I were to use one.··\JI.vor:d and areas where refuseniks are able to give assistance to their express the essence of the relations between Zionist,S friends. At critical moments, Jewish activists even sign in the U.S.S.R.," saysAlexandr ,Voronel,"!,J 1;"';\','\ '.·.:i'~.".,·.. · .. ,pE~tiltiolns in defense of other dissenters; 'friendship'."! 8 Since Sovie,t dissenters are socially os1:ra(~tzE!d<':"'U'i.a,.: refuseniks,' scientific and mathematical seminars are support from any other individuals is very valuable td·)t!;lE~rQ;;:i;{:i': i:,;',i'.. >ttnF>nIIIPlnTI=Ir! by Democrats who also suffer the feelings of stagnation that accompany a blacklisted intellectual. "After all, such thing as a pure Jewish science," says Alexandr Lyudmila Sleksev.26 Eighteen refl,Js'~niks were , . Defending pri~ners Perhaps the most vital and exten ive interaction between Jews statement -:- submitted to the Moscow Helsinki of the Czechoslovakian Charter 77.27 Former Soviet Je\lVish::;j3a;ti.VU,t: . . other dissenters is t.he.ir ,activities ~volvin.g ~risoners. The prison IS one place where all dissidents - Je Ish activists and refuseni ks - Sylvia Zalmanson explains that when the rights of an'volne,1'fc,rni:iiriv· at~ thrown into the same conditions. "We would never be able to of the r:novements are .infr-inged upon, there is . . s'muggle materials to our Jewish prisoners without the help of the When Democrats are threatened, Jews appeal on +h'..... ·'h,....h Ukrainia~/Nationalists," says Moscow refusenik Ida Nudel, who is in charge- 6l\taking material to the (Jewish) Prisoners of Conscience. "I Emigration and Internal Change'· ~m a practical person," she continues, "and working together (with Refuseniks disagree over the extent of dangers. oth~rdissidents) is inevitable in this area."] 9 the Democrats. The Jews who are apprehensive about Political work within the prison camps takes th is same tone. For argue that the involvement may co~fusethe Jewish example,inrnid-1975, sixty-six prisoners signed an appeal call ing for restate their main goal as emigration, not internal . more humane cond(tions for "persons sentenced because of political, believe the viability and inoffensiveness of this purpose · :national and religious motives."2 0 The names of thirteen Prisoners of . comparison with that of the Democrats ~are salient Conscience -,- most notably Edward Kuznetsov and Mark Dymshitz, underlying the Jewish movement's relative success.2 9 the defendants in the 1970 Leningrad trials - are included in that Although most Jewish activists wou(d agree that emigr~tio!l Jong Iistof signatories. far easier for the Soviet authorities to allow than internal.,.;.·.. ·,...I.+;~·.';'I change, many do not agree that the Soviet government vie:ws Outside of the camps, most Jewish petitions deal with the Jewish movement as less of a threat than other dissident grbups~ emigration issue, Soviet anti-Semitism or persecuted Soviet latter activists point out that the word '~Zionist" i's said in the Zionists.2] Jewish appeals for non-Jewish causes do occur however breath as "anti-Soviet conspiracy" in the nevVsp.ppers, .on especially when the Soviet government victimizes a frie'nd of th~ television and in the courtroom.3 °In fact, it can be argued that,...... "··;···,··· .. · Jews .. In .1968, many members of the Jewish movement, among them sizable and geographically diverse base of therefuseniks and Julius Telesin, Michael Zand and Vitaly Svechnisky, signed various strong swpport in the West make them more threatening ...:..: petitions protesting the infamous "trial of the four" (Aleksandr Soviets' eyes - than other dissenters. Former DemocratiC and Ginsby~g, . Yuri Galanskov, Alexsey Dobrovolsky and Vera activist Aleksei Tumerman elaborated on this shortly U:lshkovp).2, 2 In January, 1972 during the trial of Vladimir in Israel: Bukovsky,eight Jewish activists stood outside the courtroom and In the West, they do not understand that the regime in Russia'is not ". signed a letter on his behalf.23 In the summer of the same year will ing to enter into an ideological discussion with. opposition groups. This regime simply liquidates 'anyone who "rebels." The · Professor Venya Levich and other Jewish scientists signed a protest Russians react to criticism not according to the of ,'the'. 24 s~verity letter on the anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In criticisms but to the actual damage that· it is liable tooa'Usethe 1973, Jewish activists, among them Alexandr Voronel, Mark Azbel re·gime. • ,p. and' Soris. Einhinder, wrote an open. letter in protest of the Those who think that since the Zionist movement in 'j,ntensified. harassment of Andrei Sakharov and Alexandr no proposals against the Soviet regime itself - in the ~e~sethat the Democratic movement threatens it - that the' Russians will treat . ~)'SOlzhenitsyn and asserted that ". '. there are times when a man's . Zionist activists more lightly to bring about a siiuatioh . li'Cfi!:?HXf;)!;'1;i/1::1:;:'::'tS)'::,;~rai'::0,I?(;: ..... ; silenc~ makes him an accomplice in the crime."2 5 anyone will be allowed to leave the prison called the .Soviet This trend has continued in more recent years. In January, 1977 But this is in contradiction to the Russian purpose of rwcl\,n,n +i ,,,,.,·:·ttle' ...... ,',.'!:,:j.. :,'", .... ;:., n refuseniks signed a special appeal to world Jewry and the opening of the prison . gates .... ·In- their·opinibn, :•• ·:~;:i;:;!.'f,P)imJh·it.p.d))tates'Congress asking therT) to protest the arrests of Helsin ki movement in the U.S.S.R. is capable of preventing the cin... in,n"r-,;f>i+;:o';::::';;··.:... ';: 'Group members Yuri Orlov, Aleksandr Ginsburg and trade agreements between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.31 f To .~a'y . that Soviet authorities PJrceive the Democrats as a more Democrat.") 6 Refuseniks, such asSlepak and ·ipvidious menace than the J wish movement is apparently who come to the aid of Democrats still r:naintpin .tb·,ati.thE!it(,gQ~ . unfounded. emigration, not internal political change . But one must l.ook at the.q alific.ations. which underscore· the The most emphatic statement on this is.sue· arguments of those who fear, interaction with other movements. writte.f"J' to Western Jewish .. Ieaders which. describeq . Although they themselves might not work with other dissidents, they importance of Shcharansk y'simminenttria,1. Siilce Shch.3ra:nSI