May 31. For the past decade. over 100.000 people of all faiths and backgrounds have united for one Sunday in New York City to emphatically proclaim 100 percent American solidarity with the Soviet Unions 3 million repressed Jews. House Resolution 85 not only expresses support for Solidarity Sunday but also calls on the Soviet Union to remove all emigration barriers and to guarantee free expression of religious beliefs and cultural traditionsa guarantee that the Soviet Union itself endorsed as a signatory of the Helsinki accords. Despite that endorsement. however. the Soviet Union has continued. and in some instances. accelerated. its harsh policies of harassment and repression of Jewish efforts to retain cultural dignity and religious traditions. Not only has the Soviet Union consistently denied Jewish people their basic human right to religious expression. it has also cruelly tightened its emigration policy and intimidated those who wish to join relatives and loved ones in the homeland of Israel. The tightening of emigration has become so extreme that the number of Soviet Jews permitted to emigrate in 1980 was almost 60 percent lower than in 1979. Must the United States sit quietly while this wellknown repression continues. terrorizing the lives of millions who only seek to live their chosen lifestyle in peace? The answer is a resounding "No". we can and should support resolutions such as House Resolution 85.
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emigrate emigration