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Family Is All That Matters 100 America." Iosif was always thinking about living in Israel. But they had to be careful; if all the family members applied to leave the Soviet Union together, ultimately none would be allowed to leave. They would become victims of Iosif 's security clearance. The family's plan called for patience. Aer Lev le, Iosif, Lyubov, and Yeva would submit applications. At first Lyubov was reluctant to go along with this strategy. She thought she might never see her son again. But finally Iosif convinced Lyubov that leaving Russia would be in Lev's best interest. They would let him go, be patient, and follow. Many Soviet Jews thought it was faster and easier to get permission to travel to Israel than to other Western countries. Lev obtained such permission. "I was just lucky," Lev recalls. "In 1979, 50,000 families were allowed to immigrate to Israel. I was in the middle of that. The wave of immigration was based on an agreement Senator Edward Kennedy signed with Brezhnev to swap grain for Jews." Lev obtained his visa om Soviet authorities on February 2 and le on February 9, 1979; the visa was valid for only 30 days. Lev, accompanied by Iosif, Lyubov, and Yeva, went to the Moscow airport, Shremetyevo II. It was a bittersweet moment. When Lev passed the immigration officer, Lyubov and Yeva started to cry. Iosif recalls he was ready to cry, too, but he did not. He needed to remain strong to comfort his wife and daughter. "Please do not cry!" Iosif said to his family. "I will do everything to get permission to leave the USSR as soon as possible so we can be together with Lev." They went back to a home that seemed extremely lonely. The family thought about him every second, and Lev also knew how hard it was on them. The family worked hard to maintain contact. They wrote a letter to Lev every day, and every day he wrote back. Oen Lev's letters didn't arrive for a week or two, and then a dozen letters would come together. It was clear that all of Iosif 's letters to Lev and all of Lev's letters to the family were censored by the secret police. All mail was opened by the KGB and some of the letters had holes in them or had half a page cut off. Once or twice a week, the family managed to talk to Lev on the telephone. The family assumed the KGB monitored the telephone calls as well. "Those were the most difficult days in our lives," Iosif says. Lyubov kept saying "Lev is just a kid! How will he survive without us?" Iosif replied that Lev was a clever, intelligent, confident, and mature man. "He will survive and he will be successful," he added. Iosif 's confidence was well-placed. As it turns out, Lev never went to Israel. The USSR did not have a direct relationship with Above: Lev Volsun in Moscow, 1973.

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