Speech #920206701

Until 1967. the Jews in the Soviet Union solved their dilemma by ceasing to be Jews. After the 6day war. however. and as a consequence of Moscows campaign against Israel and Zionism. some assimilated Sews have been reimbued with a sense of their own Jewishness. Scores of Jews have sent and signed petitions to the Kremlin demanding exit visas. others have staged hunger strikes and sitins. This has resulted in mass arrests. intimidation. convictions. and jail sentences for some. Inadvertently. the Kremlin has fostered Jewish awareness and has thereby created a demand by Jews and others for emigration visas. but Soviet leaders see the desire to leave as an expression of disloyalty to the Soviet Union. It is estimated. however. that actually only about 5 percent of Soviet Jews have expressed a desire to emigrate. It is further estimated that if all restrictions were removed. and Jews could emigrate without difficulty. that only about 10 percent would do so. The reason is that the Soviet Jews professionally are very well off in many fieldssuch as art. music. science. literature. engineering. and law. Although Jews represent less than 1 percent of the total Soviet population. they account for 14.7 percent of all the physicians. 8.5 percent of the writers and journalists. 10.4 percent of all the judges and lawyers. and 7.7 percent of the actors. musicians. and artists. In addition. 14 percent of the Jewish population in the Soviet Union has a higher or specialized secondary education which almost triples the rate of other Russians. Many Jews. therefore. feel they have a vested interest in the Soviet Union and would not leave under any circumstances. It is difficult. therefore. to understand the Soviet Unions denial of such basic human rights. such as the expression of ideas. the exercise of religi3n. and the right of dissident Jews to emigrate. To me. the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 471 is essential. since it sets forth the outrage of most Americans over the plight of religious minorities in the Soviet Union. and Its passage will show that public opinion in the United States opposes the actions of the Brezhnev government in this regard. Perhaps. through this moral persuasion by the Congress in passing H.R. 471. we and other free nations of the world will be able to influence the Soviet leaders to relax the policies in the Soviet Union in this vital area of human rights.