Human Rights Moscow Cracks the Gates

By William R. Doerner

Vladimir Slepak gained the nickname "father of the refuseniks" as one of the earliest and most dogged defenders of Soviet Jews who had been refused permission to leave the country. Since 1970, except for five years of forced exile in Siberia, the television engineer served in Moscow as a key source -- sometimes the only source -- of information and advocacy on behalf of fellow Jews who wanted to emigrate. Last week, 17 years after Slepak and his wife Maria first applied for an exit visa, the two celebrated his 60th birthday in Jerusalem after a joyous arrival ceremony attended by 200 friends and admirers. Said Slepak: "I feel like I have been born again."

So do a growing number of other refuseniks. Moscow has allowed 5,423 Soviet Jews to emigrate so far this year, nearly six times the 914 who were permitted to leave in 1986 (but still a far cry from the 51,300 let out in 1979). Among the departees are Ida Nudel, Slepak's counterpart as "mother of the refuseniks," and several other prominent Jewish emigration activists. Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze has told U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz that at least 12,000 Soviet Jews will be given exit visas in 1987.

Does this sudden emigration surge mean that Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev intends to pay more heed to one of the human rights that the Soviet Union has long violated? Or is it merely a temporary opening of the door, mostly to troublesome refuseniks? Says Mathematician Iosif Begun, who was recently given an exit visa after a 16-year wait: "This is a hopeful time for Soviet Jews, but sometimes I'm afraid this hope has no basis."

The U.S.S.R. is home to more than 1.5 million Jews, the largest Jewish population outside of the U.S. and Israel. The State Department estimates that 400,000 of them may want to leave the country, although only 30,000 have formally requested visa applications. Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union began in earnest in 1971. But after it peaked in 1979, Moscow drastically reduced the number of emigration permits the following year, claiming that many applicants -- even those who had worked at menial jobs -- possessed "state secrets." The cutback was a response to heated Western criticism of Moscow's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

Ironically, the latest spurt of Jewish emigration has caused a rift between the U.S. and Israel. Though Jewish emigrants almost always give Israel as their destination, many have actually settled in the U.S. Israel, eager to gain a higher share of Soviet Jews, has asked Moscow to begin routing the departees' flights directly to Tel Aviv rather than to Vienna, the current gateway. Washington opposes any move that would place limitations on the emigrants' freedom of choice.

In its efforts to promote the emigration of Soviet Jews, Israel may hold some new bargaining chips. The Soviets have recently shown an interest in re- establishing the diplomatic relations that Moscow broke off after the 1967 Six-Day War. Reason: Gorbachev is anxious to reassert Soviet influence on the Middle East peace process and realizes that will be difficult so long as Moscow has no diplomatic ties with one of the region's major players. Jerusalem has made it clear to the Soviets that progress on the matter is directly related to Moscow's future record on Jewish emigration.

With reporting by Ann Blackman/Moscow and Nancy Traver/Washington