Speech #990005058

I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding. I. too. as the gentlewoman from California indicated. and. I believe. as the gentleman in the well has indicated. have visited Israel. and I know of the complaints and the sensitivity of the matter dealing with emigrants not being able to leave the Soviet Union. A number of families conveyed that to me. with a deep concern. For Jews trying to leave the Soviet Union. 1984 was a most disappointing year. with less than 900 Soviet Jews permitted to leave in 1984. compared with 51.000 who emigrated in 1979. We are aware of at least 50.000 refuseniksJews who have applied for visas and were deniedstill residing in the Soviet Union. Coupled with their frustrated attempts to leave the Soviet Union. the entire Jewish community has increasingly been subjected to harassment. loss of their jobs. arrests. and imprisonment. In addition. an expanded antiSemitic campaign is being carried out in the statecontrolled press in which Jews are urged to deny their Jewish heritage and assimilate with the cultural mainstream of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Jews have responded to this persecution with unwavering defiance and dignity. Even though they are sure to lose their Jobs. over 300.000 Jews have initiated emigration procedures. And. although at great risk. many Jews have joined privately with their brethren to study Jewish religion. culture. and history. We know of at least four Hebrew teachers who have been arrested as a result. Stories of the great trials and tribulations among Soviet Jews fill this room today. Recently. a woman who has been corresponding with a refusenik family for 51/2 years. shared with me her most recent letter from the family of Alexander Mariasin. The Mariasins struggle to emigrate has been a prolonged one and is even more urgent due to his wifes lifethreatening illness. In his own words. We pray to God that everything comes out well.