Speaker. no one will soon forget. if ever. that on August 31. a Korean jetliner was callously shot down over the Sea of Japan by a Soviet fighter pilot after the commercial aircraft accidently strayed into Soviet airspace. It is important in the aftermath of this appalling and utterly inexcusable loss of 269 innocent lives. however. to remember that there are thousands of living innocents remaining in the Soviet Union whose lives are daily tragedies in the environment of that countrys totalitarian regime. Among these living innocents are nearly 500.000 Soviet Jews. many of whose only crime has been a request to emigrate to Israel or America. where they have the freedom to practice the religion they choose. The situation for Soviet Jewry has steadily deteriorated during the past year. Emigration has come to a virtual halt. only 639 Jews have been permitted to leave during the first 6 months of this year. a far cry from 1979. when 51.329 Jews emigrated. The 130 Jews who left during August were significantly fewer than the average number of Jews who left during a single day in 1979. the peak year for emigration. If this trend continues. less than 1.200 Soviet Jews will be allowed to leave in 1983. I strongly supported the Presidents measured response to the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007.
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