Soviet Jews Continued from Page 7 piassi-en atm PIWINIVIV1AVRS EXQUISITE FURNITURE OF LOUIS XV AND XVI STYLE. MADE OF SOLID WOODS BEAUTIFULLY HAND CRAFTED AND TREATED WITH 24 KARAT GOLD LEAF. BOHEMIAN CRYSTAL, ORIENTAL AND PERSIAN RUGS, CRYSTAL LAMPS AND MORE. 3297 W. 12 Mile Road, Berkley, MI 545-2593 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD AT FOURTEEN MILE • FARMINGTON HILLS • 855-3944 FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 10 A.M. A-- 11 P.M. REGISTER TO WIN a MAD! MAD! MAD! shopping spree — (5) 8100 shopping sprees given away! SPIN the MALL MADNESS WHEEL and win $88 back from your sales receipt. 12 FRIDAY, JULY 31, 1987 negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States on trade and disarma- ment. In a burst of un- characteristic candor, the deputy director of Ovir in Moscow told Evgenia Palanker that she was ab- solutely correct. Few believe that the United States would barter national security for Jews. We also have no guarantee that the reasons stated by Ovir to Mrs. Palanker actually represent official Soviet policy, but we at least know that the Soviets are willing to let the west perceive that they want Jews to be chips on the bargaining table. Turning now to the conven- tional wisdom that visits to refuseniks should be held in secret: In Moscow we arrang- ed to meet a Jewish man on a street several metro sta- tions from the hotel. At the end of the evening he asked to accompany us from his apartment to our hotel since he wanted to see what a deluxe tourist hotel looked like inside. He walked into the hotel lobby directly in front of the guards who are there to make certain that on- ly registered guests enter and he came up to our room without fear. He said that either the guards would let him pass or they would not. In either event, he had nothing to lose. Vili Palanker met us almost in front of the hotel and engaged us in lively con- versation near the entrance. When several others from our tour group walked by and greeted us, he openly and in a loud voice invited them all to come to his apartment. He said he wants to hide nothing and wants the authorities to know about every visitor he receives. In Leningrad we met with Evgeny and Irena Lein and their 15-year-old son Alex. The Lein's daughter, son-in- law and grandchildren have just been granted permission to leave. The Leins have suf- fered much; their case is among the worst. Yet when I asked Evgeny on the telephone how I might get a taxi to his apartment he told me to get one at the hotel even though we had been told in the U.S. not to do this since the driver might report the trip to the KGB. When I asked if this could hurt him, he replied that he is well known to the KGB (as are all refuseniks), they know he receives visitors and he wants them to know. He said: "Tell our story to everyone." Notwithstanding the fact that the Leins have suffered much (loss of work, beatings and exile to Siberia), Evgeny said that among the Russian people attitudes are chang- ing. His old friends are corn- ing back, his neighbors are becoming more friendly and his son now has a young Rus- sian friend. In Moscow and in Armenia I also heard stories of acts of friendship being ex- tended to Jews by ordinary Soviet citizens. While it is true that most Jews who apply to leave still suffer severe economic hard- ships, this policy is not con- sistently applied. Glasnost, it seems, has not changed Soviet policy. It has, however, started to allow the "We should all have a ready answer for Olga . ." Soviet people to express themselves more openly — even to Jews. We also observ- ed many acts of friendship and kindness directed toward us as Americans as we mov- ed from place to place, often independently of our tour guides. Finally, and sadly, the pic- ture would not be complete without the statement of our Soviet tour guide, Olga, as we were about to depart from the USSR. She is a member of the Communist Party and was well aware of our being Jewish. She knew of the even- ings we quietly broke away from the group to pursue "in- dependent activities." As I was about to board the plane she said, "Jews who meet in their apartments and engage in anti-Soviet activities with the aid of foreign visitors will be persecuted." Here is the answer we should all have for Olga: • The Soviet Union will be inundated with American tourists who will visit Soviet Jews and the visits will be as open as the hosts care to make them. • The stories will be told and retold as often as possible to anyone who will listen. • Not only will we attempt to pressure the Soviet Union to let Jews leave, we will use our best efforts to gain them the enjoyment of the same, albeit limited, rights as other Soviet citizens. • The refuseniks are con- vinced that constant pressure brings limited results over time. Until another and bet- ter solution appears on the horizon we will faithfully carry out our obligation to our fellow Jews. We will thumb our noses at Olga and carry on.