Speech #920049986

In fact. a recent eply on how you Soviet emigre. Mr. Leonid Rigerman. has ur feelings about told me that at least 500.000 Soviet Jews would leave if the government permitted and even more would be interested in RON JOHNSON. emigrating if government policy was more certain and there was no fear of LEBANON. OREG. retribution. m Randy Wells. It is disturbing to note. Mr. President. last year of Jr. that the sudden increase in emigration gons Wilderness came at about the same time as the recent series of trials in Leningrad and out the Pumice Riga. These trials attracted a great deal iess areas. espe- of publicity and as a result of the world ess area. outcry the death sentences imposed on big California two of those tried at Leningrad was rt of it. all they commuted and additionally scheduled .r not about this So I think that trials were postponed from January unabout it before til May. It seems obvious. therefore. that think that you the temporary liberalization of emigrand you and do tiofi policy was designed in the hope of diverting world public opinion from the y on the actions. trials. In that sense the new emigration erns. policy failed. World public opinion conRANDY WELLS. tinued to condemn the trials for their obvious antiJewish overtones and for May 18. 1971. the shroud of secrecy that surrounded an eight grader them. Equally disturbing is the fact that user of the Three the trials seem to be a -warning to those ould like to ex- Soviet Jews who have expressed an in-. terest in emigrating to Israel that the government will not tolerate such sentiments. Mr. President. the Soviet policy of denying Jews the right to emigrate to Israel is in direct violation of international law and of a number of international agreements to which the Soviet Union is a signatory. In addition. the Soviet government itself has committed numerous violations of Soviet law in the everyday treatment of Soviet Jewry and in the conduct of the recent trials.