Speaker. I join my colleagues today in a World Day of Protest on behalf of Ida Nudel. a courageous woman who is completing a long and harsh period of internal exile in the Soviet Union. Ida Nudel has been active in the support of Jewish refuseniks. and has herself been refused permission to emigrate to Israel since her first request for a visa in 1971. After being arrested for hanging a protest banner from her apartment window in 1978. she began the arduous Siberian exile which is now approaching an end. As a proud. sensitive woman who dedicated herself to the care and support of other prisoners of conscience prior to her own arrest. Ida Nudel garnered the respect and admiration of people the world over. Known as the Guardian Angel. she is a strong and inspiring example to others who work for the freedom to worship in or the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Like many others. I am disturbed by the increasingly stringent Soviet response to individuals who seek exit visas. And I am concerned for those Soviet citizens who endure harassment and persecution by their neighbors and their government because they choose to practice their religious faith or seek to emigrate from the Soviet Union. I join my colleagues today in calling upon the Soviet Union to honor its commitment to these principles as embodied in the Helsinki accords. and to recognize Ida Nudels right to emigrate to Israel following her anticipated release from exile in March of this year.*
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