Mr. Speaker. it is an honor to join my colleagues in welcoming Iosif Mendelevich to Washington and to highlight the tenacity of spirit which brought him through his 12 long years of struggle for emigration from the Soviet Union. Mr. Mendelevich has become a vivid and inspirational force in the efforts of Soviet Jews to reach Israel. a goal which has consistently been thwarted by Russian denial of exit credentials solely on the basis of religious beliefs. Denied permission to emigrate to Israel. he was one of the ringleaders of a group of Soviet "refuseniks" who plotted to steal a plane to escape the country in 1970. and who was subsequently sentenced during the Leningrad trials to 12 years in the Russian Gulag. Throughout these years. however. he has persevered spiritually. never relinquishing his hope nor his faith. Mr.
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emigrate emigration