Speech #980214777

In the U.S.S.R.. antiSemitism may be traced from the religious programs of the czars to Stalins campaign to destroy Jewish culture to present Soviet policies of harassment. Today. Soviet Jews face a new crisis: Emigration is at a virtual standstill. In 1979. Jewish emigration reached a highpoint of 51.320. In 1982. the number plummeted to 2.688. From January until April of this year. only 303 Soviet Jews have been permitted to emigratean appalling denial of basic human rights. As unsettling as these statistics are. it is even more disturbing to learn of the great hardships confronting Soviet Jews who merely apply for exit visas. Their first step.is to obtain an invitation from first degree relativesimmediate family membersresiding outside the Soviet Union. But these contacts with hopeful relations are frequently made impossible by an inscrutable state system. Mail stops and telephone lines are severed. Visa applicants are frequently threatened and even dismissed from work. The families of prospective emigrants became outcasts and their children are tormented and assaulted in school. Many Soviet Jews are arrested. imprisoned. or exiled. Also. Soviet officials frequently fabricate charges as reasons for denying emigration applications. More recently. the Soviet Union has informed many Jews that they will not accept further applicationsa flagrant violation of the Helsinki accords. Mr.