Speech #980166468

The doors to higher educational institutions are closing to an increasing number of qualified Jewish applicants as a result of discriminatory entrance exams. Under the late Yuriy Andropov. the plight of Soviet Jews worsened considerably. New measures were introduced to make even more difficult the already arduous process of applying to emigrate. Emigration applications continue to be subjected to oppressive measures such as dismissal from employment or. in some cases. even imprisonment. Laws were changed to further punish those trying to emigrate. and there was a crackdown on Jewish culture. Of extreme concern is the massive propaganda effort against Jews which includes the creation. last April. of the AntiZionist Committee of the Soviet Public. and the publication of the virulently antiSemitic book. "The Class Essence of Zionism." The most significant sign of worsening treatment was the drastic decrease in emigration from a high of 51.320 in 1979 to a low of 1.314 in 1983. Only 178 Jews have been allowed to emigrate so far in 1984. Yet. the number of Soviet Jews applying for emigration visas has not diminished. This increasingly harsh policy is a cause of great concern and sadness. yet neither Soviet Jews nor we have given up hope that things yet change for the better. I deeply hope that the change in leadership in the Soviet Union will be seen on the part of Soviet officials as an opportunity to soften policy toward Soviet Jews and for bettering relations generally between our two countries.