THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 21, 1977 19
Soviet Cruelty Continuing After Davidovich Family Leaves
By JONATHAN SCHENKER
Public Information Officer,
National Conference
on Soviet JeINTry
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
Only after- his death
was Col. Yefim
Davidovich permitted to
emigrate to Israel. His
wife, daughter and
grandson accompanied
the body on the long jour-
ney from Minsk to
Jerusalem in September
1976, where the former
Red Army colonel was
buried with full military
honors.
Shortly before his
'?ath, Davidovich re-
--larked, "Willingly or
unwillingly I shall be-
come a martyr, a victim of
anti-Semitism." And
eight months after his
death, the Soviet press
still publishes stories
about the family, trying
to exploit their situation
as immigrants.
In an article entitled,
"Letters from Paradise,"
published in the Dec. 4,
1976 issue of Sovietskaya
Belorussia, author B.
Zhavoronkov writes that
the remaining family
members were forced to
emigrate after
Davidovich's death, while
in fact they readily re-
applied to emigrate.
While he had been alive,
the family was denied an
exit visa on the grounds
of the colonel's long and
illustrious service in the
armed forces. After his
death there was still no
peace, and only the pleas
of concerned Jews and
non-Jews helped to sec-
ure the family's visa.
Sonia Davidovich, the
colonel's only child, upon
arriving in Isfael said that
soon after her father's ap-
plication in 1971 she was
removed from her job in a
so-called "staff-reduc-
tion" though no. other
teachers were forced to
leave. She then worked as
a nursery school teacher
but was later told to leave
by the director. Only after
numerous protests by her
father was she reinstated
in the school.
The entire family was
ostracized from Russian
society. His wife, Maria, a
non-Jew he married after
-he had been critically
wounded in World War II,
made his fate her own.
Until his final day she
was a partner to his suf-
fering and his struggle as
a Jew.
The colonel, protesting
his denial of an exit visa
expressed his feelings
two years after applying
in an appeal to Soviet au-
thorities:
"It is clear to every sen-
sible person that I am not
and cannot be a bearer of
military or state secrets.
"I had faithfully served
the Soviet people my en-
tire conscious life. I gave it
everything that a human
being can give. I was five
times wounded in battles
against the German fas-
cists. For military feats
and for my work in the
army I have been awarded
15 medals and orders. At
present, after three heart
attacks, I am an invalid of
the second group, unable
to work.
"My right to emigra-
tion to the state of Israel
is guaranteed by interna-
tional and Soviet state, to
Marxism-Leninism. Karl
Marx had recognized and
defended this right. He
sharply condemned the
rulers of Prussia for in-
troducing measures de-
priving Jews of 'one of the
elementary rights, proc-
laimed in,1889 the right to
free movement from one
place to another.'
"My inflexible decision
to go to the state of Israel
has not come from mate-
rial considerations, or by
chasing after the boons of
life, but by a right to
human dignity. The
tragic history of my
much-suffering people
has shown that a Jew can
live a life fit for a human
being and a citizen only in
his national state.
"In ancient Egypt,
when a drought began,
the sages remembered
the Jews; they
slaughtered them and
wet the land with Jewish
blood. Of course this could
not replace rains and the
flooding of the Nile, but it
brought some sort of an
appeasement to the ig-
norant masses.
"When an epidemic- of
the - plague or of the chol-
era would begin in Spain,
the holy fathers would re-
member the enemies of
Christ and of mankind and
would burn scores of
thousands of Jews.
"In southern Italy the
earth shook during an
earthquake, - either be-
cause the Jews wanted
this or because the earth
did not want to bear Jews.
In both cases Jews were
buried alive in earth.
"In Czarist Germany,
hungry and torn apart by
the visitors, the Jews
were declared guilty of all
Carter Committed to Untangling
'Log Jam' on Soviet Emigration
WASHINGTON (JTA)
— Robert Lipshutz, Pres-
ident Jimmy Carter's des-
ignated White House
Counsel, told a Bnai Brith
board of governors
luncheon Monday that
the incoming President
was committed to "re-
move the log jam on
emigration" of Jews and
others from the Soviet
Union, but "how that will
be done will be deter-
mined at a later date."
Meanwhile, 29 "re-
fuseniks," denied permis-
sion to emigrate from the
Soviet Union because
they possessed "classified
information," have ap-
pealed to the United
States to seek an interna-
tional ruling on what con-
stitutes "governinent se-
rets."
The petition, bearing
their names and address-
es, was directed to the
U.S. Commission which ,
monitors the Helsinki
Agreement, It was made
public today by Bnai
Brith at its midwinter
meeting.
The two-page document
was described by David M.
Blumberg, Bnai Brith's
president, as "part of the
continuing courage and
persistence of Soviet dis-
sidents to struggle openly
for their freedom and part
of the continuing evidence
of Soviet violations of the
Helsinki Accord."
The petition was pre-
sented to the Bnai Brith
governors by Max"
Meshon, a Philadelphia
attorney who met with
Soviet dissidents during a
visit to the USSR last
month. Meshon was given
the petition by a dissident
leader, Aba Taratouta,
with a plea that "it get to
the proper authorities in
the United States."
Blumberg said the ap-
peal would be submitted
to the Commission on Se-
curity and Cooperation,
the joint body of Congress
and the Executive set up
to monitor how well sig-
natories to the Helsinki
Accord — the Soviet
Union in particular —
adhere to its human
rights provisions.
In their appeal, the 29
refuseniks noted that the
USSR provided "no legis-
lation or any published
instructions" dealing
with- emigration and
"even a listing which
could give one an idea as
to what is considered
`classified information' is
an unobtainable docu-
ment."
It also was reported that
Attorney General Edward
H. Levi has approved
parole into the U.S. for
4,000 Soviet refugees in
Rome, all but 200-300 of
whom are Jewish. The ref-
ugees left the Soviet,Union
during the past several
months.
Although they were
eligible for adMission to
the U.S., they have been
required to remain in
Rome because there were
not enough visa numbers
available to them within
the limits of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act.
The parole authority was
also exercised on behalf of
the Soviet refugees in
1973 and 1974.
In a related develop-
ment, the Ford Adminis-
tration issued a plea 4o
Congress to repeal a law
that ties U.S.-Soviet
trade improvements to
the free emigration of
Russian Jews.
Commerce Secretary
Elliot L. Richardson and
Charles W. Robinson, de-
puty secretary of state,
said in separate testimony
before the Commission on
Security and Cooperation
that the law, known as the
Jackson Amendment, has
resulted in less emigration
and lost trade oppor-
tunities because Soviet of-
ficials refuse to bow to
U.S. pressure.
The commission was set
up to monitor Soviet com-
pliance with the Helsinki
agreement on human
liberties.
the miseries of the Ger-
man people. For these
`crimes' in accordance
with the plan for a final
solution of the 'Jewish
question,' millions of in-
nocent people were mas-
sacred, including my par-
ents, three of my small
brothers and 78 close rel-
atives."
Though the Soviet jour-
nal has attempted to vilify
the family, Davidovich's
outspoken activities on
behalf of Soviet Jews
makes him a particular
target even after death. As
a man who could not re-
main silent in the face of
numerous articles in the
Soviet press against Israel
and Jews, the anti-Semitic
articles clearly affronted
his honor as a citizen and a
human being. It is clear,
not even Soviet propagan-
dists will be able to re-
write his past. And his
strength is what ties his
family today to the wider
circle of the Jewish people.
An Israeli journalist
wrote in Maariv soon
after interviewing Sonia
that it is clear in her eyes
that "what has been
—was and will be remem-
bered; but now she is sit-
ting among her people,
and wants to participate
and take root in life."
Israelis and Lebanese Join
in Bloodless Battle — Soccer
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Is-
raeli soldiers and Leba-
nese Christian militia-
men met in bloodless
combat on Israeli terri
tory Monday and the Is-
raelis were defeated 2-0.
It was the second soccer
contest since last week,
between official enemies
who 'have become good
neighbors. In the earlier
game, an Israeli civilian
11 whipped a team com-
posed of Lebanese work-
ers in Israel by a score of
6-3.
The earlier match was
played on the football
field of Maalot, the Upper
Galilee township where
terrorist infiltrators from
Lebanon murdered more
than a score of Israeli
hikers sleeping in the
local school building sev-
eral years ago.
The event, watched by
200 Lebanese and several
hundred Israelis, signified
the changes that have
taken place in the region
since the tragedy of
Maalot.
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