Speaker. I commend my colleagues BEN GILMAN and DANTE FAScELL for convening todays special order commemorating the International Day of Concern for Soviet Jewry. The outlook for Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union is at its lowest point in several years. In fact. the number of Soviet Jews allowed to leave has slowed to a trickle. These embattled people and their families are refused in their legitimate attempts to emigrate. they also face increasingly brutal antiSemitism from Soviet functionaries and the Governmentcontrolled media. Truly. the situation of Soviet Jewry is desperate. and demands our deep concern and willingness to intensify our efforts on behalf of these brave people. I strongly urge all House Members to participate in this sessions congressional vigil. and maintain an active letterwriting campaign to the new Soviet leadership about the plight of individual refusniks. I have become closely involved in several of these cases. and am moved by their determination to emigrate. and be reunited with their families in Israel and the United States. It is hard for us to imagine the strain they live under each day in an oppressive society that regards them as criminals because they are trying against great odds to keep their culture alive. In addition to congressional efforts. it is critical that the administration use every available international forum to keep the plight of the Soviet Jewish community an active issue. and one that demands a reversal of the abhorrent Soviet policy in effect today.
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emigrate emigration