For 17 years, Jewish activist Goldshtein, a specialist in computer technology and an expert in automation, worked in various Soviet institutions. He is the author of numerous scientific articles and eventually rose to chief of a research lab at the Mendeleev Research Institute of Meterology in 1969. He was dismissed from that position in December of 1971 because he was planning to emigrate.

Goldshtein has repeatedly been denied permission to emigrate since his first application and has not worked as a physicist since. In September of 1972, Goldshtein renounced his Soviet citizenship in a letter he wrote to the authorities denouncing the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. A month later, he assumed Israeli citizenship.

Victim of continuous reprisals, Grigory Goldshtein was detained on January, 17, 1978, with a warning that he must find employment within 20 days or face a parasitism charge. He was released around a week later, but rearrested and sentenced to a year in labor camp for parasitism on March 20, 1978, under Article 234-1 of the Georgian SSR Criminal Code. His sentence completed, Goldshtein

returned home to Tbilisi in March of 1979.

A Jewish activist, Isai, like his brother, first applied to emigrate in December of 1971. He lost his job as a result and has long been the object of harassment from the authorities; his telephone and mail service have been disrupted and his house has been searched frequently. Isai was also beaten, and officials have placed restrictions on him and his wife.

Detained on January 17, 1978, this activist was threatened with the charge of parasitism and then released on January 23 or 25, 1978. Isai and Grigory Goldshtein initiated a suit against the Soviet Ministry of Justice during the summer of 1979 to prove that Grigory's arrest, charging and sentencing were all conducted in an illegal manner.