Speech #980160064

Mr. President. I recently received an interesting publication from the National Conference on Soviet Jewry entitled "1983: the Year of Yuri AndropovImplications for Soviet Jews." The message of this review is the decline in Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union from a high of 51.320 in 1979 to 1.314 in just 4 years. This statistic directly correlates with the increased persecution of Jewish citizens in the U.S.S.R. over the past few years. Morris B. Abram. a longtime champion of human rights. and chairman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. has stated recently: All of those in this country and abroad who are interested in the peace movement. and whe hAe contact with the Soviet Union r _oviet citizens or Soviet organizaons should place on their agenda the plight of Soviet Jews.