Speech #970254182

Speaker. I am honored today to again participate in the Congressional Vigil for Soviet Jews. I am hopeful that this continuing vigil will have a positive effect on the emigration of Soviet Jews to the country of their choice. Several organizations in my congressional district have contacted me on behalf of many Soviet Jewish families and individuals wishing to emigrate and for various reasons have been denied. These individuals have been subjected to continued harassment and in some cases imprisonment because of their desire to live in a free society. I will continue to write Anatoly Dobrynin. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. expressing my deep concern about the emigration and political persecution of these Soviet Jewish families and in one case have received positive results. The Goloni family. who emigrated to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1975. received their U.S. citizenship last June. I believe our efforts have had some effect on the Soviet Government and I will continue to work toward securing freedom for Soviet Jews while I am in Congress. With the death of President Breshnev. the United States and the entire world is closely watching the changing policies and leadership within the Soviet Union. Hopefully. this new leadership will allow more individuals to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States and elsewhere throughout the world. I urge my colleagues to participate in this congressional vigil so that more Soviet Jews can emigrate to the country of their choice.$