Born in Dairen (Dalian) China in 1926, Joe from his childhood up to 1945, was a member of “Beitar” in China. Returning home from Japan after World War II in 1945, he found himself in Russian occupied territory of Port-Arthur and Dairen (Dalian), where he lived. In 1948 Joe sought permission to go to Israel for participation in the war of Independence. He was refused and arrested by the Russians in Nov. 1949, charged with spying for the Americans, and also with Zionism. Sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, he spent most of the years in camps in Taishet and Magadan. He was rehabilitated in 1956, and only ten years later in Moscow, he received permission to leave for Israel. He wrote a book in English called FAREWELL TO RUSSIA. Memoirs of an Alleged ‘American Spy’ which was also translated into Russian.
