The tragic case of a young Jew in the Soviet Union

Writing from Jerusalem No one knows how many Jews there are in the U.S.S.R. - 2, 3 or 4million. Prime Minister Shimon Peres talks about 3 million, 400,000of whom, he says, have asked permission to emigrate to Israel.

To those in this country and to their kindred hearts in theWest, the issue always seems to boil down to the plight ofindividuals. It is an unusual and laudable attitude considering thelarge numbers involved: Soviet Jews who openly identify as such andSoviet citizens who have chosen to conceal Jewishness out of personalpreference or expediency.

The case of Anatoly Shcharansky stands out in this vein. Historment as an inmate of Soviet prisons and labor …