Speech #980166525

Jewish cultural activities are the subject of antiSemitic campaigns and propaganda. Advocates of Hebrew teaching and selfstudy have been imprisoned and subjected to internal exile. The right to emigrate. whether it be for the purpose of reuniting families and loved ones or for religious or personal reasons is a basic right and one supported by international convention. That right is repeatedly violated by the Soviet Union. Soviet Jews who attempt to exercise their emigration rights by applying for exit visas are subjected to harassment and ostracism. Those who press for their rights risk the punishment of Siberian exile or jail. It is a wellknown fact that the number of Soviet Jews permitted to emigrate from the Soviet Union has declined from a total of more than 50.000 in 1979 to less than 1.500 this past year. The exodus of Soviet Jews has all but ended. leaving hundreds of thousands who would emigrate confined to the Soviet Union against their will and confronted by a society that is becoming increasingly more antiSemitic. It is our duty and responsibility as a free and concerned people to continuously call attention to the human rights violations of the Soviet Union. We must remind the Soviet leadership that the free world is aware of their actions and attitudes toward Soviet Jews and that they must take steps to liberalize their emigration policy and end their officially supported antiSemitism.e