All people yearn for freedom. the freedom to express their own views. to worship their God in their way. to choose meaningful work. to live in a place of their liking. Yet. if this is a universal desire. it is nevertheless denied to many across the world. The latest human rights crisis in the world is occurring in the Soviet Union. with regard to the desire of many Soviet Jews to emigrate to other countries. principally Israel. This right is being denied to all but a few. The figures documenting this crisis are startling. In 1979. 51.320 Soviet Jews were allowed to emigrate. but this number has declined dramatically to just over 2.600 last year. For many years. we have been aware of the wellknown Soviets who have left their country. the athletes. dancers and literary notables. such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn. But the issue at hand involves a significant number of individuals who want to leave the Soviet Union. It is a mass movement. and for this reason Soviet officials have issued their crackdown. It is certainly no flattering commentary on a nation when tens of thousands of its citizens wish to leave. As a result. the Soviets have increasingly refused exit visas for Jews. Additionally. Soviet Jews are subjected to a variety of indignities including denial of education. adequate housing. movement within the country. and advancement within their profession.
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emigrate visas