Speech #960186522

To discriminate in education against any ethnic minority is unjust. to do so against Jews. who value learning so much. is particularly cruel. The importance Jews place on education has made them especially vulnerable under the vagaries of the Soviet system. In August 1972. the Soviet Union imposed the infamous education tax on emigrants to recompensate the government for expenditures on their professional training. Collection of the tax was abandoned 7 months later after international protests. Jews who were unable to pay the tax. which exceeded $30.000 in some cases. were in effect refused emigration because they were educated. Now Jews are being refused education because they might emigrate. Jews with aspirations for education are increasingly being told. "We do not intend to train specialists for Israel." But such comments only mask the Soviets institutionalized and longpresent antiSemitism. Jewish university enrollment has been declining since the formation of the Soviet state. the largest reported drop of 40 percent began before significant numbers of Jews started emigrating in 1970. By limiting Jewish access to education and the knowledge. prestige. and income that accompanies it. Soviet authorities are in fact providing incentives for emigration. By placing obstacles in the path of Jews who wish to emigrate. the Soviets are placing the Jewish community in a deplorable predicament. As the new year unfolds I hone that the Congress. the administration. and the American people will continue to express their concern about the Soviet Jewish community. and the human rights of Soviet citizens in general. Clearly we have entered an uncertain period in our relationship with the Soviets. Let us not forget those who are denied fundamental human rights. Anatoly Shcharansky continues to languish in prison unable to join his wife Avital in Israel. Countless others are denied their right to emigrate to rejoin their families. I urge this Nation to demand that the Soviet Union release Shcharansky now and insure the rights of all its citizens to live without fear.