Speech #980189113

Speaker. as Mr. Chernenko assumes leadership of the Soviet Union. it remains unclear what the policy of the new regime will be with regard to Soviet Jewry. Soviet Jewish emigration plummeted from a peak of 51.320 in 1979 to 2.688 in 1982. Only 1.314 Soviet Jews were allowed to emigrate in 1983. As profound as these figures are. they do not begin to express the individual tragedy experienced by the Soviet Prisoners of Conscience and their families. In a recent article in the Denver Post. "World PoliticsAnd Tragedy." David McQuay details the continuing tragedy of Nohim Meiman. a noted Soviet mathematical physicist. who has tried for almost 10 years to obtain an exit visa. and his daughter. Olga Plan. and her ongoing campaign to get her father out of the Soviet Union. I commend this article to my colleagues attention while applauding the cc-.itinued efforts of this body to ease tne oppression of Soviet Jews.