THE JEWISH NEWS
THIS ISSUE 60(
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
NOVEMBER 27, 1987 / 6 KISLEV 5748
Sharansky Is Driven
To Beat The Odds
LILA ORBACH
Special to The Jewish News
During his years as a Prisoner of
Zion and more recently in his new life
in Israel, Natan Sharansky has come
to symbolize the struggle of Soviet
Jewry for freedom.
In person, though, Sharansky is
far from superhuman. Little more
than five feet tall and worried about
his weak heart, he is nevertheless
driven to use his strength to win in-
ternational recognition of the plight
of Soviet Jews.
Sharansky made a brief stop in
Detroit earlier this week, hoping to
mobilize more Detroiters to the Dec.
6 rally for Soviet Jewry in
Washington, D.C.
"The fate of our brothers and
sisters in the Soviet Union is in our
hands;' Sharansky told the nearly
500 people, mostly students, who
packed the auditorium at the United
Hebrew Schools in Southfield Sunday
morning. "It is very important that
Natan Sharansky at United Hebrew Schools.
Secretary Gorbachev will hear our
message and let our people go."
Scheduled for the eve of the
Reagan-Gorbachev summit, the
Washington demonstration is ex-
pected to be one of the largest Jewish
rallies ever. Officials are predicting a
crowd of 100,000.
Despite the highly-publicized
release of several prominent Soviet
Jews in recent months, Sharansky
warned his audience not to be fooled
by Gorbachev's "public relation's cam-
paign," as fewer and fewer visas are
being granted in general. "He is not
a champion of human rights," said the
freed Soviet dissident. "Gorbachev is
much more interested in his image in
the West than any of his predecessors.
We must show him we are not deciev-
ed by his good but limited gestures."
Due to new immigration laws im-
plemented last January, only those
with immediate family abroad may
apply to leave the Soviet Union.
Therefore, 90 percent of the 400,000
Continued on Page 12
Leonard Poger
13-year-old Linda Goldstein
has some lofty dreams
on her swimming horizon