Speech #970144172

I rise today to extend my support to Col. Lev Ovsischer and his wife. Nadya. Soviet Jews whose only desire is to emigrate to Israel to rejoin their daughter. For more than 11 years. the Ovsischers have been denied this basic humanitarian right by Soviet officials. but during this period. Lev and Nadya have not been deterred from their path. Nor have the Ovsischers friends abroad forgotten about their plight. On March 5. 1982. families from five countries. including six American cities. will commemorate the occasion of the Ovsischers first application for an exit visa. But. March 5 is an imporant date for another reason. as well.