Despite serving more than 10 years in a Soviet prison. where he endured especially cruel treatment for. his strict religious beliefs. Iosif has never wavered in his total commitment to basic human rights. He was released and allowed to emigrate earlier this year. At the time. we were all hopeful that his release represented a positive change in the Soviet Unions harsh treatment of their Soviet citizens. Unfortunately. that is not the case. Instead. the Soviet Union has continued to deny the free emigration of Soviet Jews. they continue to prohibit Jewish cultural and religious activities. the Soviet Press continues to launch a virulent antiSemitic campaign. and thousands of Jews who have applied to leave the Soviet Union continue to be persecuted. These are just some of the reasons I authored a resolution. House Resolution 85. earlier this year denouncing the treatment of Soviet Jews and calling on the Soviet Union to "remove all obstacles to the free emigration of their Jewish citizens * * * and insure the free exercise of religious beliefs and cultural expression." The Senate passed this resolution unanimously yesterday and I am hopeful that the presence of Iosif Mendelevich here today will inspire similar action by the House. We must continue to demonstrate in the strongest terms that we will not tolerate the Soviet Unions repressive policies. I salute Iosif Mendelevich for his courage and am thankful for the strength and inspiration he is contributing to the cause of human rights.
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emigrate emigration