Speech #980230528

This Congress and concerned citizens have become increasingly alarmed at the plight of the Ethiopian Jews as the world has learned of the effects of the severe drought wracking Ethiopian and other countries in subSaharan Africa. In my own district in Michican. many of my constituents have expressed their deep concern about the famine conditions afflicting Ethiopian Jews. The famine has only added a new urgency to the desire of many Ethiopian Jews to emigrate to Israel and. in fact. since the beginning of 1984 about 1.900 of them have gone to Israel in search of security and religious freedom. The total number of Ethiopian Jews in Israel is now 7.000 and another 14.000 to 17.000 are still awaiting the chance to seek freedom abroad. On this day. I join my colleagues in expressing my concern about the suffering of these people and my commitment to efforts to alleviate their plight in Africa and to insure them the chance to emigrate to search for a brighter future in Israel..