Mr. Speaker. today we pause in one of our ongoing series of special orders on behalf of Soviet Jewry. a special order designed to heighten public awareness of the plight of over 2 million Jewish citizens of Soviet Russia who cannot freely worship. express their religious convictions. or leave the country to settle in less hostile surroundings. The Soviet Unions persecution of its Jewish minority is most dramatically demonstrated by its refusal to grant them exit visas. In 1979. over 51.000 Soviet Jews were permitted to emigrate. Five years later. in 1983. only 1.300 were granted exit visas and allowed to leave the Soviet Union. A more insidious form of persecution is the governmentinitiated. governmentencouraged policy of harassing Jews who have expressed a desire to leave the country. to study the roots of their heritage. or to practice their faith. These Jews are excoriated in the news media and often are denied the employment best suited to their skills.
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emigrate visas