Mr. Speaker. I was appalled upon learning of the latest move by the Soviet Union to impose an emigration head tax in the amount of thousands of dollars upon Russian Jews desiring to emigrate to Israel. This inexcusable outrage reflects a complete disregard and contempt of basic fundamental human rights and it arouses the fullest public condemnation of all decent and freedomloving people. Because of the barbarous treatment of Soviet Jews. I was very pleased to Join with Representative EILsERG and other concerned colleagues in sponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 706 designed to express the sense of the Congress that the Government and leaders of the Soviet Union should be formally and severely censured. The grave injustice of past Soviet infringements upon the. Jewish People. including the levying of a $1.000 fee for emigration permits. the loss of jobs. threats of forced enlistment in the army or possible imprisonment and general harassment. is now multiplied many times over through the almost unbelievable demand that a ransom of from $5.000 to $25.000 be paid for each Jewish person with a higher education who wants to emigrate to Israel. Mr. Speaker. this action violates the spirit and letter of the United National Declaration of Human Rights by blatantly disregarding the universally recognized right to emigrate from ones country and it further violates the values and hopes of the world community at large. In joining with my colleagues in condemning the Government and leaders of the Soviet Union for perpetrating this inhuman and discriminatory outrage on thousands. and thousands of Jews living in the Soviet Union. it remains my most earnest. hope that the innocent victims of this continuing persecution may soon be granted a full redress of grievances and permission to exercise their individual rights as human beings and toward these objectives I will continue to express my convictions and exert my efforts.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration head tax