Speech #980227967

Mr. Speaker. in remembrance of the infamous Leningrad trials 14 years ago. Congress must reiterate the urgent call for emigration reform in the Soviet Union. Last year was the worst yet for Jewish people wishing to emigrate from the U.S.S.R.. for only 1.300 exit visas were granted. This year. the pace of visas permitted has slowed to a trickle. The struggle to leave the Soviet Union has become increasingly difficult for all citizens. yet almost impossible for those desiring to go to Israel. I would like to call particular attention to a special woman named Stella Goldberg. who has been trying to leave the Soviet Union since 1970 to join her husband in Israel. Ms. Goldberg was a concert pianist with the Moscow Concert Organization. yet was removed from that position when she sought to emigrate. Ms. Goldbergs plight is typical of Soviet refuseniks in that she has not only found it extremely difficult to obtain permission to leave. but has been punished severely for her desire to do so. Jews seeking to emigrate are frequently harassed. fired from their jobs. and tried in court on phony charges. They are often sentenced to long prison terms or put into mental institutions and many are forced into internal exile. In recent years. very few Jews have made it past this long wait and bureaucratic entanglement. Tragically. the denial of basic emigration rights is only one of the Soviet Unions violations of the rights of its Jewish citizens. The antiSemitism of the Soviet system seems to touch every aspect of daily life. especially Jewish religious life. Jews may not print prayer books. hold congregations. nor maintain a central organizational structure.