Speech #980166547

Last year was one of the darkest yet for Soviet Jews. AntiSemitic propaganda was widely circulated by the Andropov regime and the number of arrests and incidents of harassment were alarmingly higher than those of previous years. Emigration for Jews reached new lows in 1983. In 1979. 51.320 Jews were allowed to emigrate. while a mere 1.314 Jews left Russia in 1983. For the courageous 400.000 Jews or refuseniks who have filed for exit visas. every single day is a struggle to maintain their physical and emotional wellbeing in a hostile environment. On a congressional delegation visit to the Soviet Union last summer. several colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with various refuseniks in their apartments. These men and women spoke to us about their lives of oppression and suffering as Soviet Jews.