Speech #970201970

This brave woman has worked vigorously for her own liberty and selflessly to support others who yearn to escape the miserable plight of Soviet Jews. For the past 11 years. Ida Nudel has been deprived of the right to emigrate and. since 1978. has experienced the treatment which the Soviet Government reserves for those who express an independent will. That year. she dared to hang a banner demanding a visa to Israel. For this courageous act. she was sentenced to 4 years of internal exile. a life of isolation and brutality difficult for citizens of the free world to fully comprehend. Ida Nudel has served her sentence. but she is by no means free. Instead. she has been denied a permanent home. denied a visa. and suffers from continued harassment. Those of us who have followed her case and called for her freedom in the past must now redouble our efforts to gain the freedom of this noble woman. Unfortunately. Ida Nudel is but one of many thousands of Soviet Jews who have been denied the right to emigrate. In blatant violation of the 1975 Helsinki accords. the Soviet Government prohibits its citizens from expressing their cultural and religious beliefs and refuses them the right to emigrate. In June. a mere 182 Jews were allowed to emigrate to Israel. The rest remained trapped in a barren prison of atheistic Soviet society. Thus. we. as the leaders of a free nation dedicated to international human rights. must speak outloudly. clearly. and continuallyuntil the Ida Nudels are given their freedom and Soviet Jews are treated with the dignity which is their Godgiven right.9