Letter from Rabbi Abraham Cooper (Los Angeles, Calif.) to Chic Hecht (Washington, D.C.), February 27, 1986

T02 Simon Wiesenthal Center February 27, 19 86 Senator Chic Hecht Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 9760 West Pico Blvd. On the Campus of Yeshiva University of Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90035-4792 (213) 553-9036 Telex 910-490-2667 Dear Senator Hecht: Word has reached the West that Soviet officials are on the verge of closing one of the Soviet Union's few remaining synagogues, the Ashkenazi Synagogue in Tbilisi, the capital of the Georgian republic. Soviet authorities plan to bull-doze the synagogue with the location apparently slated for a square. There are presently 20,000 Jews in the city and the closing of the synagogue would have obvious tragic impact on a Jewish community already under siege. The Simon Wiesenthal Center urgently requests that you contact Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin in Washington and V. Kuroyedov, President of the Council of Religious Affairs, Smolenski Blvd. 11-2, Moscow G-121, USSR to urge that the Tbilisi Ashkenazi Synagogue be saved. We request that copies of these letters be sent to us. Thank you for giving this your attention. Sincerely yours, Rabbi Abraham Coo'per Associate Dean AC/mk encl Rabbi Marvin Hier Dean Board of Trustees Samuel Belzberg Chairman Vancouver, B.C. Roland E. Arnall Co-Chairman Los Angeles, CA Alan I Casden Co-Chairman Beverly Hills, CA Steven Antebi Los Angeles, CA Newton Becker Los Angeles, CA Hyman Belzberg Calgary, AB William Belzberg Beverly Hills, CA Ivan F, Boesky New York, NY Norman Brodsky New York, NY Mrs. Marvin Cohen Beverly Hills, CA Arthur Fouks, Q.C. Vancouver, B.C. Herbert M. Gelfand Beverly Hills, CA Alan Greenberg New York, NY Hank Greenspun Las Vegas, NV Frank Hammer Beverly Hills, CA Uri Harkham Los Angeles, CA Frank Horny Los Angeles, CA Robert Ives Beverly Hills, CA Ira Lipman Memphis, TN Marcus Lowy Los Angeles, CA Larry Mizel Denver, CO Jack Nash New York, NY Abe Pollin Washington, D C. Martin Rosen New York, NY Daniel Schwartz Palm Springs, CA David Shapell Beverly Hills, CA Frank Sinatra Palm Springs, CA Arnold Smith Phoenix, AZ Don Softer Miami, FL Irving I. Stone Cleveland, OH Erwin Sussman Beverly Hills, CA Elizabeth Taylor Beverly Hills, CA William Weinberg Beverly Hills, CA Jerry Weintraub Beverly Hills, CA Maurice Weiss Beverly Hills, CA Paul Willensky New York, NY Gary Winnick Los Angeles, CA Morris J. Wosk Vancouver, B.C. Rosalie Zalis Los Angeles, CA iiniiiira v*c 1 1 1 W w C U Lii By MARVIN HIER and ABRAHAM COOPER Jewish tradition speaks of two Jerusa-lems? one temporal, the other on high. For Soviet Jewry and human rights leader Anatoly Shcharansky, the hope of ever setting foot on the cobblestones of Jerusa-lem's Old City this decade must have been as remote as a walk on the moon. Yet suddenly, for Shcharansky and his heroic wife, A vital, the impossible dream has become a reality. For their supporters, a brief but sweet moment of relief and joy, all captured and heightened by the world's media. And for Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a public-relations bonanza. Why now? After all, Shcharansky lan-guished in the Gulag for eight years. Until just a few months ago, the mere mention of his name prompted Soviet representatives to walk out of negotiating sessions. Last fall's Geneva summit between Gor-bachev and President Reagan seems to have been the event that altered the equation. The Soviets were clearly pleased by the Gorbachev team, which more than held its own. The Soviet leader was comfortable in the spotlight and projected the image of a confident, tough, co-equal of Reagan. But in Reagan's steadfastness and clearly delineated conservatism, the Sovi-ets also saw elements to be reckoned and bargained with. Like it or not, they knew that the refusenik issue was affecting a variety of policy goals and objectives. First, they have seen the issue of Moscow's reliability vis-a-vis international accords constantly called into question. In looking to knock out the "Star Wars" initiative and promote nuclear-weapons treaties, the Soviets were uncomfortable with constant reminders?not only from the United States but perhaps more impor-tantly from countries like France and West Germany?that 400,000 Jews were being barred from reunion with their families. This in clear violation of the Helsinki Accords signed by the Soviet Union. Further, one need not be a graduate fellow at Moscow's U.S.A. Institute to realize that Gorbachev, when he comes to the United States this summer for a second summit with Reagan, would surely face massive demonstrations in whatever cities he visits. Such a prospect would hardly be an inviting backdrop for a triumphant tour. Then too, there is the Kremlin's contin-ued frustration over the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which has blocked the Soviet Union from receiving most favored nation status and the broader economic potential it would carry. All roads, it seems, pointed to the human-rights agenda. To address these problems and opportu-nities, the Kremlin has embarked on a sophisticated game plan worthy of a chess-master. On the home front it sent signals that virtually nothing had changed. Actual emigration figures did not appreciably rise. A leader of Leningrad Hebrew teachers was jailed on trumped-up charges. In Tiblisi, 20,000 Georgian Jews face the prospect of the bulldozing of the Ashkenazi synagogue. Simultaneously, Yelena Bon-ner received permission to leave for medi-cal treatment in the West. A number of Soviet-American couples were allowed to be reunited here in the United States. And now key Jewish activists Eliyahu Esses and Shcharansky have been released. The Soviets also launched another, less publicized front. They have chosen to link the refusenik issue to the possibility of renewed diplomatic relations with Israel (a prerequisite for Soviet involvement in any Middle East peace process). Indeed, a ranking Soviet diplomat initiated a meeting with a representative of the Simon Wie-senthal Center in Los Angeles six weeks ago, in which he predicted a Soviet-Israel rapprochement. He also predicted move-ment on the emigration issue, to commence this month. Similar signals were floated to other groups. They were surely timed, in Bart, to hold out th^, promise for a rosier future if activists would only mute their criticisms in the coming months. But while activists here, in Israel and in Moscow give the Kremlin high marks for cashing in on America's infatuation with heroes, they have already set their sights beyond the exchange on the Berlin bridge. First, they will be looking for hard num-bers; will they approach the detente-era levels? Close scrutiny will continue to be paid to the Soviet media campaign that daily depicts Israel, Judaism and the Jew-ish people in almost demonic terms. There will also be attention given to the fate of Soviet Jewish citizens who seek to express their Jewish religious and cultural identi-ties within the parameters of Soviet laws. If euphoria over the release of a few refusenik "stars" diminishes the West's vigilance, then Moscow will have won a crucial round. It is clear that the Soviets are prepared to give up much to achieve their goals. We should pressure them to do no less. In the final analysis Shcharansky's arrival in Jerusalem is one giant step for a courageous couple, but only a small step for Soviet Jewry. Rabbi Marvin Hier is dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Rabbi Abra-ham Cooper is the center's associate dean. METRO ? o s A n g e l e s (Times Thursday, February 13, 1986 Editorial Pages 8A ? THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1986 ? USA TODAY ' Tf OUDSAAY ABRAHAM COOPER Guest columnist It's still your move, Gorbachev LOS ANGELES ? Anatoly Shcharansky's giant step to freedom represents one small step for Soviet Jewry and hu-man rights. This is not to dimin-ish the commitment of Anatoly and his wife, Avital. Further, this gesture cannot merely be dismissed as a minor one on the part of the Kremlin, for un-til just a few months ago Soviet negotiators walked out on ses-sions when his name was merely mentioned. So what is next in this inter-national chess game? The Sovi-ets have three major objec-tives, which are all in their view somehow impacted by the issue of 400,000 "refuse-niks" struggling to reach Israel: ? They desire a successful U.S. tour by Mikhail Gorba-chev when he visits this sum-mer. Massive demonstrations greeting him in New York, Washington, and San Francisco certainly wouldn't help pro-mote the image of Ronald Rea-gan's peace partner. ? They would like to im-prove bilateral trade and tech-nological possibilities by re-moving the Jackson-Vanik amendment which currently blocks them from obtaining most-favored-nation status. ? They want back in as a central player in any potential Middle East peace process. The strong signal being sent both directly and through our allies on this varied shopping list is that everything is negotia-ble, but what is needed is sub-stantive policy changes, not only the welcome but limited gestures on high-profile cases. In addition to a timetable on emigration for all refuseniks, Soviet Jewish activists here and abroad will be looking for signs of a general easing of pressure on the 2.5 million So-viet Jewish citizens. Among the areas of concern Rabbi Abraham Cooper, as-sociate dean of the Simon Wie-senthal Center, has traveled widely in the Soviet Union. are the ongoing media cam-paign, which depicts Israel, Ju-daism, and the Jewish people in a Nazi-like demonology; the relentless persecution of He-brew teachers and all those seeking to openly express their Jewish identity within the pa-rameters of Soviet law; and the nearly unbroken policy first in-stituted by Joseph Stalin, which effectively isolated Soviet Jews from any ongoing contact with outside Jewish cultural and re-ligious institutions. But while we anxiously await word on these broader concerns, we will redouble our efforts to free the "symbolic leaders" of Russian Jewry, in-cluding Josif Begun, Ida Nudel, and Vladimir LifShits. Your move, Mr. Gorbachev.