Mr. President. the exchange which we are having here today on the Senate floor is an important one. It is critical that we focus on the problems faced by Jews in the Soviet Union who are being denied the opportunity to emigrate. despite their strong desire to do so. Those who are concerned for the plight of Jews in the Soviet Union cannot help but be disturbed over the trend in emigration over the past 5 years. In 1979. over 51.000 Soviet Jews were permitted to emigrate. The number dropped to 21.471 in 1980. and 9.447 in 1981. That. unfortunately. was only a foreshadowing of what has taken place the last 2 years. In 1982. only 2.688 were allowed to leave. and last year the number dropped to 1.315. These numbers. by themselves. offer a stark picture of the grim prospects faced by Soviet Jews wishing to receive exit visas. But behind these numbers are thousands of deeply moving. human stories. Those denied the opportunity to leave then are treated as pariahs by the Soviet Government because of their having expressed the desire to move to another country.
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emigrate emigration visas