Speech #980165446

It is vital that we let the Soviets know that we will not tolerate the new wave of antiSemitism in the Soviet Union. There is a renewed sense of urgency to act on behalf of Jews in the Soviet Union. Soviet Jewish emigration plummented in the last few years. from a 1979 peak of 51.320 to an unprecedented low of 1.314 in 1983. Most distressing of all was the Soviet AntiZionist Committees assertion that no more Soviet Jews desired to emigrate. With visa requests increasing rather than decreasing. we can only view this assertion as an ominous official statement of Soviet policy. Moreover. the AntiZionist Committee is attacking Jewish cultural efforts with a new vengeance. The harsh treatment of prisoners of conscience and the increased harassment of longterm refusniks illustrate that the Soviet regime seeks to eliminate any vestige of Jewish culture within its borders.