Speech #980005925

It is virtually impossible for Jews to pass on the rituals and traditions of Judaism to younger generations. As a result. the Jewish religion could face extinction in the Soviet Union. The worsening situation for Soviet Jews has led hundreds of thousands to apply to emigrate. And yet the number of Jews allowed to leave the Soviet Union has rapidly diminished. Only 2.688 Soviet Jews emigrated last year. the lowest level since 1971 when truly effective emigration began. This represents a decrease of a staggering 95 percent in the past 3 years. In addition. the approximately 300.000 Soviet Jews awaiting exit visas face increasingly severe governmental harassment. Many have been fired from their jobs and some scientists have been advised that their academic degrees have been or will be revoked. Only in Hitlers Germany have the academic degrees of Jews been revoked. There are a multitude of individual examplesdocumented casesof hardship. of separated families. and of persecution. The Helsinki accords. which the Soviet Union signed. requires respect for the rights of religious and ethnic groups. They also forbid Governments from holding people who want to emigrate and rejoin their families. Minority rights are also guaranteed in the Soviet Constitution. the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The Soviet Union. however. continues to blatantly ignore these agreements.