עמוד:74

Let My People eo e Go ! Background Information The Jews in the Soviet Union Between 1917 and 1989 , Russia , Ukraine , and other countries were members of an alliance called the “ Soviet Union . ” The citizens of the Soviet Union were not free in many ways . For example , they were forbidden to express positions that differed from those of the government and they weren’t allowed to leave the country without a special permit . The situation of the Jews was particularly difficult because of widespread anti-Semitism . Anyone who took an interest in Judaism , studied Hebrew , or had any books in Hebrew was suspected by the authorities . The Jews who were denied permission to leave the Soviet Union and immigrate to Israel were called “ Refuseniks” or “ Prisoners of Zion” . In 1970 , Jews in the free world launched a campaign against the Soviet authorities to force them to permit the Jews to emigrate from the Soviet Union to other countries including Israel . How did they organize the campaign ? They demanded that their governments only give financial assistance to the Soviet Union if exit permits were granted to the Jews ; during national elections , they voted only for candidates who promised to fight for the release of Soviet Jews and they held demonstrations in front of the Soviet embassy in their countries . The Soviet Union opened its gates in 1989 allowing the Jews ( and all other Soviet citizens ) to emigrate . A demonstration for the release of the Prisoner of Zion Anatoly ( Natan ) Sharansky , Durban , South Africa 1979

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