Including nine Jews. were accused of espionage. were tried by a military court. and were hanged in the Baghdad public square. It is estimated that only 400 Jews are still left in Iraq out of a community that once numbered 4.000. most of whom fled since 1967. I think it is particularly important at this time to point out that the international protest sparked by the 1969 public hangings resulted in the Iraqui Government liberalizing its emigration policy with respect to Jews and setting free many of the Jews who had been jailed without trial. In the past few months. however. the departure of Jews from Iraq has all but stopped. I urge my colleagues here in Congress to contact President Nixon and our representatives in the U.N. and other international organizations emphasizing the importance of a public U.S. policy statement condemning the Iraqi Governments actions and indicating a willingness on the part of the United States to permit the entry of Iraqi Jews into this country without regard to immigration quota restrictions. Concerned U.S. citizens can no longer allow our Government to overlook the desperate plight of the Iraqi Jews. It is time for our great Nation to demonstrate once again its compassion. as it did in September 1971. when it lifted immigration quota restrictions premitting the entry of Soviet Jews into this country. We must act now. before further atrocities are committed. I have written to the President urging his intercession with the Iraqi Government on behalf of this beleaguered community. and I urge our colleagues to do the same.
Keywords matched
quota restrictions emigration immigration