And in July 1967. the United States joined in a United Nations embargo against Southern Rhodesia for the express purpose of altering that governments policy toward its black residents. Thus. there is adequate precedent for the step that I am urging you to take. Perhaps the essential distinction between the historical examples I have cited and the freedom of emigration measure is that the previous actions involved the withholding of previously ongoing trade relations. today we do not propose to interfere in any way with ongoing relations. but merely to condition a new concession. on our part with a consession by the other side. I would also like to emphasize that the plight of Jews within the Soviet Union simply cannot be classified as an internal problem of that nation. To my mind the history of the Jewish people. and especially the 20th century record. is such that no human being. no matter what his country or religious belief. can justify closing his eyes and mind to their plight. In that sense the problem of Soviet Jewry is truly an international one. Of course I favor the relaxation in tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. and of course I fully support the expansion of economic relation between the two central powers in the world. But there is no need whatsoever for the United States to relent at this time and our insistence on freedom of emigration is consistent in the record of history. Correct in the annuals of international law. and essential to the moral standing of our Nation.
Keywords matched
emigration