Speech #980077098

Now more than ever. Soviet authorities are denying an increasing number of its citizens the basic freedom of choosing to practice the religion of their choice in the country of their choice. In 1982. the Soviet Government only granted exit visas to 2.688 Soviet Jews. the lowest total since the Soviet Jewry movement began more than a decade ago. Meanwhile. the number of Soviet Jews expressing the desire to leave that country is steadily increasing. The National Conference on Soviet Jewry reports that between 300.000 and 400.000 Soviet Jews have begun the process of applying for government permission to emigrate. I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues one of the thousands of persons being denied freedom of religion by the Soviet Government. Aleksandr Gelman is a 43yearold Russian Jew with a wife.