•

the Detroit Committee
,-- (DCSJ).
DCSJ members Mike and
Betsy Winkelman, who vis-
,_, ited the Soviet Union two
/' years ago, twice traveled to
\ _,Clare, Mich., half way be-
' tween Detroit and Traverse
City, to meet with Rev. Vau-
ght and brief her on what to
expect from the Soviets.
Last week, Rev. Vaught
reported on her journey to
the first fall meeting of the
" DCSJ, making the five-hour
drive from Traverse City to
give a 20-minute report. She
told The Jewish News that

'

' she wants to return again to
Detroit, to work with the
DCSJ and to "receive guid-
ance on who to talk to, where
to write to" on behalf of
Soviet Jews.
The Christian church in

/

"We were always
told the same
thing: there are
very few people
who want to
leave, those who
do can't because
of state secrets,
and those who
have left all want
to return to
Russia."

the Soviet Union was Rev.
Vaught's primary interest be-
fore her meetings with the
Winkelmans. She broadened
her goals after meeting with
them, concentrating on
human rights in general and
the status of Jews and Chris-
tians in particular.
Gradually, the human
rights interest of Rev. Vau-
ght and a few others spread
through the 138-person Na-
tional Council of Churchs
(NCC) delegation. "A few of
us kept raising human rights
issues" with their Soviet
hosts, Rev. Vaught said, and
more and more" of the dele-
gation members became "in-
volved and aggressive" as the
Soviets repeated their stock
answers.
"Whenever we met with
Christian leaders, there was
always a (Communist) party
member present. We were
always told the same thing:
there are very few people
who want to leave Russia,
and those who do can't leave
because of state secrets, and
those who have left all want
to return to the USSR.
"It was like pushing a tape
recorder," she said. "All the
officials said the same thing
— even using the same
words."
The NCC has been sending
delegations to the Soviet
Union for decades, trying to
maintain contact with Soviet
Christians. Rev. Vaught,
however, said the NCC did

not ask its delegation to ref-
rain from discussing any
issue with Soviet officials.
"Soviet Baptists are walking
a fine line to keep their
churches open," she said,
"and I was labeled a re-
negade and chastized on more
than one occasion by some
members of our group. But
many others began to see
through the Soviet prop-
aganda."
During the delegates'
three-day, pre-trip briefing in
New York, two hours were
devoted to the issue of Soviet
Jewry, with the briefings
conducted by representatives
of national Soviet Jewry ac-

tivist groups.
Rev. Vaught was prepared
to make contact with four
Jewish refuseniks during her
ten days in the Soviet Union,
but was unable to contact
three. She called Lev from
Red Square, and rode with
him on the Moscow subway
system to his apartment.
Concerned about concealing
his identity, Rev. Vaught was
surprised when Lev told her
that the Soviet authorities
knew that she was visiting
him — his telephone had
been wiretapped for years.
"Don't worry," he told her,
"There is nothing more that
they can do to me."
Rev. Vaught spent the eve-
ning listening to Lev describe
the plight of Soviet Jews
"and I came away a changed
person."
Lev believes the USSR only
wishes to use its Jews as
political pawns — barter in
negotiations between the
United States and the Soviet
Union. "The U.S. must offer
to lower the cost of the wheat
it sells the Soviet Union,"
Lev insisted, "if the Soviets,
in return, will release
x-number of refuseniks."
Her meeting with Lev
transformed Rev. Vaught.
During subsequent meetings
with Soviet officials she be-
came more insistent in rais-
ing the Soviet Jewry ques-
tion. Finally, an exasperated
funtionary demanded to
know, "What do you care
about Jews?" Her response,
she told the DSCJ, was "It
does not matter that they are
Jews. They are human beings
with human rights."

Remember the
1 1 th Commandment:

"And Thou

Shalt be
Informed"

,e1

t(e
-N f 7

•

I

■

(;
. \

You've read the
five books of
Moses. Isn't it
time to try the
Fifty-Two Issues
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Jewish News? It
may not be
holy, but it's
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such a bargain.
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own subscription
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Bush, Peres
To Speak

York — Vice
New
President George Bush and
Israel's Prime Minister Shi-
mon Peres will be featured
speakers at the 55th General
Assembly of the Council of

.

Jewish Federations, Nov.
12-16 in Chicago. Over 3,000
Jewish community leaders
from throughout North
America are expected to
attend.

16•1•1•11.

173