Mr. Speaker. today. a feeble. middleaged woman is wandering homeless in the Soviet Union for the "crime" of requesting her right to emigrate to Israel. as guaranteed under the Helsinki accords. Since her release from Siberian exile in the spring. Ida Nudel has been denied the official permit needed to live in her hometown. Moscow. and in the city of Riga. Under Soviet law. a person cannot stay in a city for more than 48 hours without a residency permit. Thus. the Soviet authorities have placed Ida Nudel in a "bureaucratic maze" designed. in the words of her sister. "to strangle her hope and spirit." The Soviet authorities have made Ida Nudel a refugee. fleeing the absurd regulations of a totalitarian legal system. Whatever the twisted motives of the officials who have initiated this latest round of the battle to crush Ida Nudel. they have insured the continuation of international protest against Soviet violations of basic human rights. The treatment of Ida Nudel reveals the entire range of Soviet tactics employed against Jews who assert their religious and cultural identity. But the mistreatment of Ida Nudel also reveals the undefeatable spirit of Soviet Jewry. which will continue to struggle for the rights outlined in the Helsinki accords no matter what cruel methods are employed against them. Somewhere within the Soviet bureaucracy. an individual issued the orders which have made Ida Nudel a refugee. Further along the chain of command. many have knowingly lied about this episode. But we do not know the individuals involved in this specific incident. so we are forced to place the blame on the entire Soviet regime. and our relations with the Soviet Union must be conducted with their guilt In mind.
Identified stereotypes
The mistreatment of Ida Nudel reveals the entire range of Soviet tactics employed against Jews who assert their religious and cultural identity.