Speech #920286864

However. withdrawal implies immediate induction into the army or navy. A Jew is therefore forced to fight and to swear by an oath which places him on the other side of the Suez. making him a direct enemy of his own people. In addition. after a 2- or 3year term of service. one must remain In Russia for an additional 5 years. thereby freezing ones possibilities of immigrating for 8 full years. It must be stated again and again that we in the United States do not accept the idea of human bodies for sale. Under no circumstances should money be raised to pay this ransom fee. The Soviet appetite will only increase to levy additional fees from those who have graduated from secondary and from technical school as well. and who knows what other demands will be formulated. Just as we cannot give in to the demands of terrorist assassins we cannot give in to the demands imposed at this time. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Nationality. I have introduced a bill calling on the President to take all possible steps to help persuade the Soviet Union to rescind the recent discriminatory schedule of exit fees. Although the decree applies to anyone emigrating from the Soviet Union to a nonCommunist country. obviously it is geared specifically toward further harassment of Soviet Jews. I stressed in this bill: The United States has traditionally upheld the free movement of all peoples as a basic human right. and the imposition of this brain tax is in effect an outright case of criminal blackmail. It is unconscionable to keep men. women and children in a country against their will by this sinister device. and Russia must be made aware that civilized nations throughout the world will not allow this blackmail attempt to go unchallenged. On previous occasions. I have urged the President to aid Soviet Jewry. speaking in the name of all humanity. On May 9. the State Department reported that the United States would make $2 million available to assist Soviet Jews who desired to immigrate to Israel. This announcement came only 3 weeks after I had called on the President to take such action. In the present session of this Congress. I urged the Attorney General to permit certain defined refugee groups to enter the United States and on August 1971. responding to my continued efforts. Attorney General Mitchell used his authority to parole all Soviet Jews who were able to leave the Soviet Union and who desired entry into the United States. This year.