Лев Гунин - ГУЛаг Палестины

residency have been failed, too. (By then practically everybody could easily get such a visa). Israelis did not want to allow him and his

brother to immigrate to Israel.

1991. After his brother's death, Lev started to cancel all steps of immigrating to Israel. He did not want to go there by then. Soon he

received an order from KGB to leave his native country for Israel. Soviet authorities sent us (family Gunin) all previously suspended visas.

We could not say "no" to KGB, but planned to escape from Warsaw to Germany. At the Central railway station in Warsaw, in presence of

L.Gunin's Polish friends, Israelis captured us, and took us to Israel by force. In Israel, Mossad (Shabbak) officers verbally accused Lev in an

attempt to sabotage the whole operation of bringing the Soviet Jews to Israel. Mossad approached him several times.

In Israel we faced next persecutions:

1) Israeli citizenship was thrust on us

2) Alla, Lev's wife, was abused, attacked, beaten, assaulted, and systematically discriminated against

3) Elisabeth, his mother, was abused, attacked, and assaulted

4) Children became victims of systematic humiliations and mockery

5) Lev himself was deprived in his rights. Israeli authorities denied him:

a) valid diploma equivalent

b) professional courses

c) rights to enter other courses or university

d) full and valid employment authorization

e) registration with the State labor exchange

f) tax exemption as all fresh immigrants were receiving

g) welfare when he was unemployed

h) proper and equal medical service

i) legal, and police defense

j) reduction of municipal taxes

k) authorization of departure, which is required in Israel to leave the country

l) etc.

He was beaten, abused, discriminated against. Israeli state radio called him an enemy. One of the leading Israeli newspapers suggested

that his works (essays, articles, etc.) must be destroyed. Innumerous and systematic draft board's orders to appear affected his normal life

and his (his family) financial situation.

During his life in Israel L. Gunin published a number of articles books in Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Moscow, and Germany, criticizing Israeli

government for human rights violations and fascist tendencies in Israel.

1994-1996. With an indirect Amnesty International's involvement we could come to Canada, and claimed a refugee status. To support our

claim we presented next types of documentary proof:

A. Legal documents

B. Documents, issued by Israeli government

C. Documents, issued by all kinds of Israeli institutions

D. Affidavits

E. Letters

F. Post receipts

G. Medical documents

H. Newspapers

I. Researches made by International committees and human rights organizations

J. Proof that in Israel we turned to innumerous organizations, institutions, police, court, and lawyers for protection

K. Our lawyer's documents

L. Etc.

Practically each statement, described in our refugee claim, was supported by the documentary proof. Only the list of documents' description

consisted of six pages.

1994-1997. In her translations, our lawyer's secretary/translator distorted all documents in our refugee claim. One of our two lawyers

submitted several messages to IRB in protest of some outraged events. He claimed that the IRB members took advantage of the distorted

translations, using them as a tool against us. IRB members used offensive, illegal methods against Lev. They interrogated only him. No

questions were given to other family members. IRB commissioners demonstrated their opinion that Lev GUNIN must be punished for his

ideological (political) views. Two members of IRB, immigration judges, gave the whole initiative to the third member, an immigration officer, a

Jew and - probably - Israeli, who only spoke. During our refugee hearings she manifested an outraged malicious hatred towards us, and

maintained close contacts with the Israeli embassy in writing, in our case. IRB members maintained the atmosphere of hostility and

arbitrary attitude towards us.

Denying our refugee claim, the IRB members not just acted unfair. Their negative decision was not just a refusal to recognize us as

refugees, but a declaration-manifest, which rejected the basic human rights in principle. In form of declaration, they denied in principle rights

to have an independent opinion, practice or not to practice religion, be protected by the state. IRB members claimed that if government

paid for immigrants' transportation, immigrants became the property of that government (a kind of commodity). IRB members also claimed

that police' and other institutions' refusal to give protection was justified if people had an alternative political /ideological opinion (even if that

opinion was not expressed to police). They claimed that we alienated Israelis by keeping controversial opinions, and refusing to change our

views. And so on...

The IRB's negative decision became not just a matter of our personal fate, but also a matter of human rights in general.

1998. In her speech in the Federal Court, Mrs. Murphy, the Minister's of Immigration representative, confirmed the IRB members' negative

attitude towards human rights, and also widened personal accusations against Lev Gunin, turning the question of our refugee status into

the question of his "inadmissible" (by whom?) ideological views. As IRB did before, Mrs. Murphy refused even to mention Alla Gunin,

Elisabeth Epstein (Gunin), and the children.

The Federal Judge, Mr. Dube, just copied Mrs. Murphy's and the IRB statements, refusing to evaluate arguments of the TWO sides. He

claimed that - because in their refusal to recognize us as refugees IRB members used the formula "no minimal credibility", - such cases are

automatically denied by the Federal Court. In reality, his decision was made in contradiction to another Federal Court judge's decision in our

case, and also contradicted the IRB's final (conclusive) decision. In that decision IRB agreed that some persecutions against us (they

called them "difficulties") could take place because we abused the Israelis by refusing to obey their demands to change our views. Mr.

Dube also revealed his partiality by distorting some important events and attacking our lawyer in personal. A person, whose name was also

Dube, was involved into negotiations between the immigration officer, Mrs. Malka, and the General Consul of Israel, in our case. We could

not find that person among the IRB headquarters' staff, or among other immigration divisions. All faxes were submitted to Israeli consulate

from Mrs. Malka, without mentioning any other name (s). However, the responses from the consulate were submitted to Mr. Dube. We feel

that this mysterious Mr. Dube has something what to do with the Federal Judge Mr. Dube.

IRB and Mrs. Murphy's accusations against us were such, which are the prerogative of the criminal court. They accused us so sharp as if

we were killers or terrorists. In reality we are innocent people, never accused in defamation, or fraud. In the same time, the way they acted

might be easily considered as a criminal offence.

We are appealing not just because of incredible injustice, but because the removal back to Israel means DEATH for us. If nobody in the

whole world could prevent it, it would mean that if people are deprived and innocent they might be kidnapped and taken to another country

by force. It would mean that demonstrative humiliations over human rights, such as the IRB members and Mrs. Murphy expressed, are

tolerated. There are rumors among UN staff that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights might be changed soon to fit to the brutal and

ultra-religious regimes' requirements. Please, do something for us before it happened!

The only way to save us is to help us in obtaining the permanent residents status in any civilized country. That could prevent our eventual

removal to Israel.

Please, help!

Family GUNIN:

Alla, Lev, Ina, and Marta GUNIN

Elisabeth EPSTEIN-Gunin

Tel. (514) 499-1294

E-mail: [leog@total.net]

From Lev GUNIN, April, 1999

Dear Friends!

In 1991 I was deported from my native Belarus to Warsaw because of my political opinion.

Together with my family (wife and 2 children) and my mother I wanted to move from Warsaw

to Germany.

On the Central railway station in Warsaw we were captured by Israelis and were taken to Israel

against our will.

We were widely persecuted in Israel and were refused an exit vise during 3 and a half years.

In 1994 we managed to quit Israel and came to Canada seeking a refugee status.

In an outraged manner, openly accenting their rights for injustice, the members of IRB

committee refused us the status.

Deportation to Israel means death for me and members of my family.

The only solution is to start a legal immigration to Canada.

But we need travel documents to afford it because:

1) our Israeli passports have expired and to extend them is not possible

2) I asked the Israeli embassy to cancel my Israeli citizenship

We made an appeal to the Federal Court, but our appeal was automatically rejected

without any analysis of our file, just because of the formula that the Immigration and

Refugee Board used in their conclusive decision. In the Federal Court, the Immigration

Canada representative, Mrs. Murphy, expressed outraged accusations against me,

as if by claiming a refugee status and by criticizing the IRB decision I have committed

the most violent crime or was a terrorist.

Almost 5 years we (my family, and me) live under a threat of deportation,

under the wild persecutions of the Immigration Canada, institution, which

put the equal sign between my peaceful and legal human rights activism

against the former Soviet and Israeli governments' violation of human rights

- and terrorism!!!

Please, help us!

My best wishes,

Lev GUNIN

August, 1997

E-Mail: leog@total.net

PREVIOUES DOCUMENT NEXT DOCUMENT

PEVIOUS DOCUMENT: [[[GROUP of DOCUMENTS NUMBER 4]]]

& DOCUMENT NUMBER 5

From Lev Gunin

File number 3082-7125

CONCLUSIVE DECISION

(Paragraph 69.1 (9) of Immigration Law)

This is the translation in brief

P.1. Paragraph 1. Lev Gunin, Marta and Ina Gunin, Alla Gunin, and Elisabeth Epstein are not recognized as refugees. Paragraphs 4-7. This

is demanders' declaration in brief: They came to Israel in April 1991. When they arrived in Petach-Tikva theirs neighbors, orthodox Jews,

were persistent [and aggressive] in their attempts to convert them [from atheism from one side, and passive Christianity from another side]

to Judaism.

Children, then 5 and 6 years old [*1] - (see commentaries), were abused during a religious celebration at a kinder-garden [*2]. The governor

has found the situation ordinary. Dispute the transfer to another kinder-garden children faced abuses. They were bitten, bite by another

children [*3]. The kinder-garden administration refused to protect them.

Demander was mocked by the employers [*4] and bitten by his colleagues because he is not a true Jew.

P.2. His wife has difficulties in finding a job [*5] , and when she was at least hired she was insulted, bitten and - under certain circumstances

- became a victim of a sexual harassment[*6].

There were multiple insults and abuses from theirs neighbors, who were furious because demanders in their eyes are not true Jews.