Mr. Speaker. emigration from the Soviet Union is not free. The Soviet Jews are especially victimized by the harsh emigration practices of the Soviet passport office. Eiton Finkelstein. a former physics graduate student from Vilna. Lithuania. is one of these victims. In 1967 Finkelstein applied for and was denied an emigration permit to Israel. This action resulted in his expulsion from the Moscow PhysicsTechnical Institute. Employment in his field was barred to him. and he now does unskilled work in a metal crafts factory. The passport office keeps denying him permission on the ground that he is in possession of "secret information" because of his graduate work. But Finkelstein has not attended the institute in 5 years. and denying him a visa on security grounds is no longer applicable. He is being subjected to harassment by the KGB. the Soviet Secret Police. in order to discourage others from applying for emigration permits. His friends fear that he will soon meet the fate of other activists and that he will be imprisoned. Although he has been denied a visa about 20 times. Finkelsteins determination to emigrate to Israel remains undiminished. for with the extinction of Jewish cultural and educational institutions. and with only a token number of synagogues open. he sees no future for the Jewish people in the Soviet Union. Mr. Speaker. nations that seek trading relations with us should adhere to a principle enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. namely. the right of free emigration. It is therefore incumbent upon this Congress to stand behind the MillsVanik amendment.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visa