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PAGE 14 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE June 20, 1986 Interiors ■ '4 7A / £/, J $<uu7 , V'// '^///cui/a /fetifyin .if .4?7 By Rita (S/e/ju RITA L. GOLDSTEIN A (A * 26? 25 // . 'rte^u/esi/un/' (’/fire.i WARNING: It has been determined that poor oral health can cause cavities in your wallet. Preventive care is the most effective way to avoid unexpected costs and keep your smile bright. We will work together to develop a maintenance program to insure your continued health and comfort. Your hours • 24 hour emergency service Cost arrangements • Dental insurance MC/VISA For a limited time only your first examination is at no cost. Dr. James G. Jenkins Family Dentistry 2494 Jett Ferry Road —Suite 101 Dunwoody 393-1524 Sister wages 14-year battle to win Ida Nudel’s freedom by Carol Green World Zionist Press Service For liana Friedman, there is neither day or night. After she returns home from her job as a bookkeeper at Na’amat/Pioneer women, she goes on to her next job—waging a one-woman crusade for the release of her sister, Soviet Prisoner of Conscience Ida Nudel. For the past 14 years, Friedman has been working ceaselessly on behalf of her sister, who is in exile in a distant region of the Soviet Union. Friedman has corresponded with most of the world’s major heads of state on her sister’s behalf: the Red Cross, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, Amnesty Inter national. An entire room in Fried man’s Rehovot apartment is filled with letters and documents related to Ida’s case. Though she is a pleasant woman who enjoys people and laughter, Friedman has little time for either. “They didn’t only destroy Ida’s life,” she remarks with bitterness. The sisters’ ordeal began in 1971 when they applied for permission to leave the Soviet Union. Although neither sister was an active Zionist, both intuitively felt that Israel was their homeland. “In the Soviet Union they don’t let you forget that you are a Jew,” observes Friedman. As the only members of their family to survive the Holocaust, the sisters were very close. Nudel lived with liana and her husband and young son in one Moscow apartment. “My son is Ida’s son; my family is Ida’s family,” says Friedman. When Ida was refused an exit visa, both sisters were puzzled. They had never been involved with politics or in any illegal activities. “We were so naive. We both thought it was a bureaucratic slip,” recalls Friedman. The sisters decided that Fried man and her family would go and that Ida would remain in Moscow and join the family later. “If I would have known that it would be years until I’d see Ida again, I wouldn’t have left,” says Friedman. With liana gone, Ida was left alone. “That was when she started to help people,” explains her sister. Ida got to know other refusniks. She helped them prepare requests to leave and accompanied them to government offices to secure exit visas. She hosted them in her apartment. Sometimes the place would get so full that Ida could not find a place to sleep. In her circle of activists Ida became known as the “angel.” Ida also adopted the prisoners of conscience who were languishing in Soviet prison camps. She wrote to them and sent them care pack ages. She called them “her boys.” Ida knew that the KGB was spying on her. In her apartment she left notes to her KGB “visitors”: “You can take everything except the care packages for the boys.” Ida also began to participate in political activities and demonstra tions. On June l, 1978, a group of refusnik women staged a legal pub lic demonstration to coincide with official festivities marking the In ternational Day of the Child. “The idea was to show that the Soviet Union is not a paradise for child ren,” explains her sister. Ida ob jected to using children in a dem onstration and only reluctantly agreed to participate. That morn ing, Ida tried to leave her apart ment to go to the demonstration. KGB agents blocked the door. Without court authorization, they placed her under house arrest. From her fourth floor balcony, Ida hung out a banner saying: “KGB, Give Me My Visa.” For this act she was charged with the crime of “hoolig anism" and sentenced to four years of exile in Siberia. “Ida was pun ished like a man; no other woman was ever punished this way,” ex plains her sister. Ida lived in a barracks-like hut without running water and had to tramp long distances in the snow, in below-freezing temperatures, for firewood and other basic provi- Continued next page. X m ( More ond more, people ore turning to The Southern Israelite for... Community, Notionol ond World news ond events... Subscribe ond keep in touch Georgia 30357 ' The Southern Israelite, P O. Address — Name ^Zstate. — 4lp ' City. If this is a gift subscription, please Mm^our personal address below. I Name State City This is. . \ a gift (indicate occas.on) r .Zip. a subscription for myself—both— , $23.00 2 years, $41.00 l have en closed my check for