Mr. Speaker. when we learned that the Vashchenkos had actually left the Soviet Union. we accepted the good news and perceived their release as a step toward an easing of restrictions on Soviet emigration. as well as a genuine gesture on the part of the Soviet Government. I hope that the Chymkhalovs will also soon be leaving. Today. however. I was dismayed to read on the front page of the Washington Post about the recent publication of the "Class Essence of Zionism." an antiSemitic book. which is yet another tactic the Soviets are using in their propaganda campaign against their Jewish citizens. As the Post reports. the book. reviewed favorably in the official Soviet press. charges. among other things. that Zionists collaborated with Nazis in World War II to exterminate Jews who were not Zionists. This obvious lie is part of the recent wave of increased official antiSemitism in the Soviet Union that has resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of Jews allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Only 421 Jews have been allowed to leave so far this year. a small percentage of the number who emigrated in past years. The Soviet Government. by encouraging the dissemination of this book. is condoning a distorted and false picture of history. The Soviet Government is acting in a blatantly discriminatory way. against internationally recognized human rights standards.
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emigrate emigration emigrated