Speech #970110626

She has since received a letter from Anatoly. I told Soviet authorities that such Soviet human rights violations cast a pall over attempts to improve relations between our countries and are a matter of deep concern to millions of Americans. I also raised specific emigration cases with Soviet authorities at the highest levels. As relations between the United States and the Soviet Union have deteriorated in recent years. clearly the fate of Jews seeking to leave the Soviet Union has darkened. And added to the tragic decline in emigration figures is a steppedup Soviet campaign of harassment against Jewish scholars and Hebrew teachers. Many young Jews in the Soviet Union are caught in a cycle of misery where they are harassed by Soviet authorities and denied entrance to universities. Young men who refuse mandatory military service face 2 years imprisonmcnt. those who do must wait at least 5 years to apply to emigrate. Mr. President. even as I work to do what I can to reduce tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and to make possible the improvement of relations between our two countries. I will continue to fight for the rights of Soviet Jews and others. I shall remember their plight and shall do all that I can to advance their cause until compassion and common decency prevail. I am submitting for the RECORD a chart which demonstrates the spiral downward in the number of Soviet Jews granted their emigration rights: 1971 ----------------------------- 13.022 1972 ----------------------------- 31.681 1973 ----------------------------- 34. 733 1974 -----------------------------20. 628 1975 ----------------------------- 13.221 1976 ----------------------------- 14. 261 1977 ----------------------------- 16. 736 1978 ----------------------------- 28. 864 1979 1980 1981 January --- 3.722 2. 803 850 February .... 3. 837 3.023 1. 407 March ------- 4.418 3.049 1.249 April -------4.296 2.469 1.155 May -------- 4.163 1.976 1.141 June -------- 4.358 1.767 866 July -------- 4.068 1.205 779 August ------ 4.711 770 430 September --- 4.663 1.307 405 October --- 4.746 1.424 368 November 4. 193 789 December 4. 145 889 Total __ 51.320 21.471 SOURCE: National Conference on Soviet Jewry.