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Article: Vigil Gives Way To a Better Day;Gatherings for Soviet Jews Suspended After 20 Years
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 28, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When Robyn Helzner sang at the Jewish Community Council of
Greater Washington's first vigil near the Soviet Embassy, it was
December 1970, she was a 15-year-old high school sophomore, and only
28 Soviet Jews had been given permission that year to immigrate to
the United States.
Last year, about 500 Soviet Jews relocated to the Washington
area alone. And yesterday, Helzner, now 35 and a professional folk
singer, sang again, this time to mark the suspension of the daily
15-minute vigils that the Jewish Community Council has conducted for
20 years.
"Those were very, very difficult times," Helzner said of the
early 1970s, a period of widespread protests over the treatment of
Soviet Jews. ...