Speech #920206659

Leaders of the Jewish community were falsely accused of crimes against the Soviet Union. These crimes consisted of such acts as translating Russian textbooks into the Yiddish and Hebrew languages so as to acquaint Jewish children with the languages of their ancestors. And another alleged antiSoviet act for which men and women have been sent to Soviet jails was the sending of a petition to the United Nations asking for assistance to emigrate from the Soviet Union to Israel. However. world pressures do have an effect on the actions of the Soviet Union. As a result of these pressures. the Soviet Union has relaxed to some degree its obstacles to the emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union. However. while the emigration has increased. it is still a trickle compared to the great number of Jews who wish to leave. I am proud that our own Government in October 1971 by a letter of commitment issued by the then Attorney General opened its doors so that any Soviet Jews wishing to leave the U.S.S.R.. and permitted to do so by the U.S.S.R. will be given sanctuary here without regard to quota restrictions. I am privileged to have been the original sponsor of the bill which led to the issuance of that letter. I hope that President Nixon will take up the matters outlined in the resolution. when he visits Moscow next month.