Speech #970005185

When Dr. Brailovsky was arrested by Soviet authorities November 13. 1980. the historically poor response to the rights of Jews by the Soviet Union dipped still lower. Brailovsky first began speaking out against Soviet harassment of Jews wishing to emigrate in 1972 after his application to leave with his family had been denied. His knowledge of socalled scientific secrets was cited as the reason his exit visa was denied. As a result of this experience. Brailovsky began working on the unofficial journal. "Jews in the U.S.S.R.." which is devoted to Jewish history. culture. and religion in the Soviet Union. Israel. and around the world. He also became active in refusenik programs and was a leader of the Moscow Sunday Seminar. created to facilitate discussion of scientific and other matters among Soviet Jews who had been prevented from emigrating. When he was granted permission to leave in 1976. his wifealso a scientistwas denied the right to emigrate for the same reason her husband had been prevented from leaving 4 years earlier. He refused to leave without his family. Soviet authorities later admitted that Irina Brailovsky had never been involved in secret work. This attempt to separate the Brailovskys violates the Helsinki accords and is a gross abuse of fundamental international human rights. The claims of safeguarding state secrets used by Soviet authorities were nothing more than a smokescreen to hide injustices in Soviet emigration policy. The mistreatment of Viktor and Irina Brailovsky. which I have merely outlined briefly. opens on to a broader picture of abuse of rights and mistreatment of Soviet Jews. All the world knows of the injustices suffered by Soviet Jews. who constantly struggle with Soviet authorities for freedom to practice their religion and for the basic human right of freedom to emigrate. Only in the last 12 years have Jews been able to emigrate without indiscriminate opposition and harassment by Soviet authorities. And even now that an official process for emigration has been established. the Soviet Government continues to make emigration a difficult and exhausting ordeal. often practically unobtainable for Jews. And there is no clearly foreseeable end in sight to this struggle. This is why Viktor Brailovskys ordeal is important to us.