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Shcharansky kisses the Wall.
Shcharansky’s future
includes visit to U.S.
by Yaacov Ben Yosef
Special to The Southern Israelite
NEW YORK.—He is home—to his
wife Avital, who struggled around
the world for his freedom; to his
new country, which has welcomed
him with unprecedented enthu
siasm; to his Jewish people, who
proudly claim him as a genuine
hero.
On a bleak Tuesday last week in
East Berlin, Anatoly B. Shcha
ransky walked across a bridge to
the western side of the city. In his
last moments under captivity he
walked in zig zag simply because
his KGB guard had told him to
walk in a straight line to a waiting
car that was to take him to his
freedom.
Of all the Soviet refusniks,
Shcharansky is perhaps the most
famous, partly because he served
so long in a Soviet prison but
partly because no name was so
often trumpeted in the Western
press as an example of Soviet
brutality.
Shcharansky’s trip to freedom
last week captured the hearts of
millions. The American press
treated his release as one of the top
stories of the week. Some of the
American newsmen who covered
him in Russia before his im
prisonment were sent by their
newspapers to cover his arrival in
Israel, a poignant assignment. He
was, as the New York Times
headlined its editorial on him this
week, “One Who Made A Dif
ference.”
Synagogues around America
made Shcharansky the main topic
of sermons. It was, in short, a great
moment for Judaism.
Now, Shcharansky is free — free
to live a life in Israel that he could
only dream of for years. Duringhis
first week in Israel he spoke little
about the type of life he would lead
now that he is a free man.
But who could blame him? He
was greeted at the airport by Israeli
Prime Minister Shimon Peres; he
held a major news conference later
in the week; and he spent his first
Sabbath in Israel being inter
viewed by the New York Times.
On Sunday, he and his wife Avital
appeared live from Tel Aviv on
“Meet The Press.”
When he was asked on that TV
program what he planned to do.
whether he would lecture, or write,
Shcharansky, without missing a
beat, said that at first he must “get
over these meetings,” meaning his
interviews with the Western press
which wanted to know every last
bit of what life was like ioJ^Q^ret
captivity.
Shcharansky’s English is superb
and he will certainly make a quick
trip to the United States. New
York Mayor Ed Koch asked
Shcharansky when he planned to
visit the United States. “When I’m
invited,” he replied. “You’re
invited,” shot back the mayor.
Shcharansky told “Meet the
Press” that he wanted to come to
the U.S. to express thanks to all
who helped in the struggle for his
release.
Though he himself has not given
any hints about what part of the
Israeli political spectrum he will fit
into, others have already begun a
guessing game to figure out how
right-wing Shcharansky is.
It has been noted that Avital, his
wife, has openly professed sym
pathy with Israel’s right-wing
Gush Emunim movement.
Whether her husband makes the
same decision remains to be seen.
He does not appear to be overly
religious. Observers have quickly
noted that Shcharansky did not
wear a yarmulke during his first
few days in Israel; only when he
was at the Western Wall that first
day did he put one on. Moreover,
his statements at his news con
ference and in other interviews did
not suggest he is overly religious.
One question already being
asked in Israel is which political
party Shcharansky will join. He
will probably be courted by all of
them. Should he wish a political
career he would probably have no
trouble winning a high place on
any party’s list, so strong is his
popularity.
The Southern
Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewry
'Since 1925'
. Vol. LXII Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, February 21, 1986 No. 8
Kidnappers murder third
Lebanese Jew in Beirut
by Edwin Eytan
PARIS (JTA) - The body of a
Jewish hostage shot and badly
beaten before his death was found
Sunday morning in west Beirut.
Ibraham Benesti. 54, is the third
Jewish hostage to be murdered in
two months by a Shiite fundamenta
list group.
The gang, “The Organization of
the Oppressed of the World,” said
they have kidnapped two more
Jewish hostages. They are believed
to hold already five other Jews.
Benesti’s body was found dumped
near a vegetable market in the
Kaskas area, which borders on the
green line separating de facto the
Christian east from the predomi-
juuitty Moslem west Beirut. He had
been shot once in the back of the
head, but medical examiners say
he had been badly tortured and
beaten before his “execution.” His
chest and stomach were covered
with cuts, bruises and burns.
A statement found pinned on
the body said he had been killed
“for having been an Israeli spy”
and as an example “to all other
Israeli agents.” Police found in one
of his pockets Polaroid photographs
showing the victim and two other
middle-aged bearded men with
visible scars on their faces. They
were identified as Yehuda and
Yossef Benesti, presumably mem
bers of the same family. Yehuda
Benesti was reported last year as
one of the seven Lebanese Jews
who were abducted last spring.
Two months ago “The Organization
of the Oppressed of the World”
murdered two other Jewish hos
tages. Professor Isaac Tarrah, 59,
and Haim Cohen Halala, 38. Since
these killings, most members of
Beirut’s already small Jewish com
munity are said to have fled. Some
reports say there are now less than
20 Jews left in the city.
T he group had also claimed respon
sibility for the hijacking of a TWA
airliner to Beirut in June 1985. The
hijackers had then demanded that
Israel set free all Shiite prisoners
held in Israel and in south Lebanon.
Israel had refused to deal with
them or give in to their demands.
The statement lound pinned tc
the group’s latest victim renewed
this demand. It said that 300 Shiites
are being held prisoners by the
Israeli-backed South Lebanon
Army in a camp near the Israel
border. The SLA has refused tc
free the prisoners it holds in Khiam
some 20 miles north of the border
The group also said Benesti had
been killed to protest “Israel’s
violation” of the El Aqsa mosque
on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
It callsthe victim“a pillar of Israeli
espionage in Lebanon." The dead
man was known, Jewish circles
said in Paris, asa quiet businessman
who minded his own business. He
settled in Beirut, coming from
Sidon. 35 years ago. It is not
known if he was married and had
children.
There are still contradictory
reports on how many Jewish hos
tages are still held by the terrorists.
According to most counts and to
the terrorists themselves, the group
now holds five of the original seven
kidnapped in spring 1985, plus the
two kidnapped last week.
Israel Week at Emory
Heading Israel Week 86 committees are (standing, from left) Jonathan
Teitelbaum; Danny Israel, general chairman; and Amy Lesnick. Seated
are Andy Warner and Dan Bildner.
by Andrew Fein
and Patricia Prigoff
Israel Week ’86, sponsored by
Emory Hillel, will hit Emory
University Feb. 25 through March
6 to call attention to the cultural,
educational, political and eco
nomic opportunities that Israel has
to offer. A pantomimist, musical
events, speakers, films, and an
Israeli market are among the
events that will highlight Israel
Week ’86.
Danny Israel is chairman of
Israel Week ’86.
The week begins Tuesday, Feb.
25 with a performance by world-
famous pantomimist Eno Rosenn.
Following introductory remarks
by SGA former president Lonnie
Brown and Israeli Consul General,
Issachar Katzir, Rosenn will
portray the emotions and ex
periences he felt growing up and
living in Israel. The performance is
free and will begin at 7:30 p.m. in
the Medical School Auditorium.
Refreshments will be served.
On Wednesday, Feb. 26, and
Thursday, Feb. 27, a transported
Israeli marketplace, called a shuk.
will be open for business in White
Hall lobby between 1 1 a.m. and
2 p.m. Booths will display a variety
of Israeli treats. Parts of the shuk
used by the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center last year in
Israel Expo ’85 will be on display.
Booths promoting Israel’s many
summer and school-year educa
tional programs will be in
operation, informing Emory stu
dents of the possibilities for study in
Israel. A VHS tour of Israel will
run continuously so passers-by can
visualize the sights and sounds of
Israel. Falafel, among other
kosher edibles, will be prepared
and sold by the Yeshiva High
School PTA.
Since the shuk coincides with
the student solidarity days for
Soviet Jewry, the Soviet Jewry
Committee of Hillel will have a
booth emphasizing Israel’s role in
the emigration of Soviet Jews. In
Sec Israel Week, page 28.
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