Will Yeltsin Victory
Aid Russian Jews?
Scant information out of Moscow leaves American
Jewish activists guessing how the October events
will impact Russian Jews.
JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
he chaos in Russia
and its bloody res-
olution contained a
mixed message for
Jewish activists in this
country who are con-
cerned with the esti-
mated 1.5 million
Jews remaining in the Russian
Republic.
On one hand, the triumph of
President Boris Yeltsin against
communist and ultra-national-
ist elements of the Russian par-
liament could prove a major
step in the quest for a genuine-
ly democratic system that will
provide stability for all minori-
ties in Russia.
At the same time, the spasm
of violence and the anti-Semi-
tism expressed by some of
the rebels were
clear in-
dications that American advo-
cacy on behalf of Jews in the for-
mer Soviet Union remains
critically important as Mr.
Yeltsin continues his uphill
struggle to reverse centuries of
Russian political tradition.
The crisis demonstrated
something else, as well: Amer-
ican Jews, like many policy-
makers, have not focused
sufficient attention on Mr.
Yeltsin's battle for survival.
"The American public, in-
cluding many within the Jew-
ish community, have wanted to
believe that the reform process
was complete," said Mark
Levin, director of the
National
Conference on Soviet Jewry.
"The bloody violence of re-
cent weeks demonstrates the
need for continuing vigilance.
Russian democracy, as we have
seen, is still an unfinished prod-
uct."
As the standoff unfolded be-
tween Mr. Yeltsin and the in-
surgents, American Jewish
groups did much the same
thing as officials at the State
Department.
"We've spent a tremendous
amount of time seek-
ing first-
100 inn spas at the toting Olte tiouse Moscow •
Boris Yeltsin
hand infor-
mation,"
said
Pamela Cohen, president of
the Union of Councils for Sovi-
et Jews. "We have a number of
people in Russia and through-
out the former Soviet republics.
The problem this week has been
reaching them. Communica-
tions have been very difficult."
State Department officials
kept Jewish leaders briefed on
the situation. But those brief-
ings were maddeningly insub-
stantial, according to several
Jewish activists.
"They were very forthcom-
ing," said an official with one
major Jewish group here. "But
they were getting much of their
information from the same
source we were — CNN. They
had almost no direct informa-
tion on the impact of all this on
the Jews in Moscow."
Still, Jewish groups did
their best to sort out the long-
term implications of the
events.
A key question is
whether the renewal of po-
litical violence will spark
an increase in emigra-
tion by Russian Jews.
Contrary to early re-
ports in the press, a
sharp increase in em-
igration is likely only
if the fighting re-
sumes and spreads,
according to Amer-
ican Jewish ac-
tivists.
"I don't see it hap-
pening," said an official with
a major Jewish group. "There
wasn't a big surge after the
1991 coup. This time, there was
violence, but there was also a
positive outcome, in terms of
Yeltsin's victory and the pro-
spects for further democratiza-
tion.
So it would be
very premature to predict a
flood of new immigrants to Is-
rael."
The fact that Mr. Yeltsin de-
certified Pamyat and other ul-
tra-nationalist groups with
strongly anti-Semitic overtones
could also put a damper on any
move towards mass emigration.
"The decertification of Pamy-
at was a very serious move,"
said Richard Wexler, chairman
of the National Conference on
Soviet Jewry. "The violence
gave Yeltsin an opportunity to
do what he has wanted to do for
a long time, and what we had
been encouraging him to do —
to clamp down on these nation-
slistic and anti-Semitic organi-
zations."
Still, he suggested, Russian
Jews who were delaying their
emigration may now feel more
pressure to leave.
"War on the streets may be
the convincer of many of those
who already have a visa," he
said. "As a result, we may see
some more signs of movement
(to Israel) from the Russian Re-
public."
Jewish officials estimate that
some 300,000.500,000 Jews in
Russia already have exit per-
mits, and can leave any time
they choose.
"The fact is that many Jews
in Russia have been sitting on
visas for Israel for some time,"
said Mark Talisman, former
Washington director for the
Council of Jewish Federations
and a longtime Soviet Jewry ac-
tivist. "It may be that they will
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