My fellow colleagues. it is true that there is agonizingly little that we may hope to do today about the serious developments affecting Soviet Jewry. Perhaps. we convene today only in the hope that we will be recognized as people who will not ignore the treatment of Soviet Jews. who will not stand by quietly while others fight for fundamental liberties. who do not sanction the steadily worsening situation of antiSemitism to which we are now witnesses. We all know about the desperate emigration situation with which many Soviet Jews are facedalthough approximately 10 percent. or 260.000. of the Soviet Unions Jewish population left the country between 1968 and 1981. only 896 managed to get out last year. Likewise. we are aware of the countless others who have indicated their desire to leave the Soviet Union by initiating the process of applying for a visa. In addition to the problem of emigration. an even greater threat. antiSemitism. has developed. We already know that Soviet policy affects Jewish religious practicesteaching religion to persons under 18 is illegal. there are no seminaries in the U.S.S.R. to train rabbis. and Jewish religious texts and ritual objects are not produced in the Soviet Union. We also know that teaching Hebrew is not recognized by Soviet authorities as a legitimate profession. and that the language may not be taught or studied by Jews. although it is available to certain nonJewish citizens.
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emigration visa