Mr. Speaker. today I am honored to Join with my colleagues in paying tribute to the indomitable spirit and unwavering defiance of Soviet Jews who face persecution for desiring to emigrate to Israel or to live as Jews. without discrimination in the Soviet Union. Last year saw an alltime low in Jewish emigration. Emigration fell from its 1979 figure of 51.320. to 896 in 1984. in part due to recent changes in application regulations. The applications now require the disclosure of the names of all relatives. placing relatives under the Soviet Governments scrutiny along with the applicant. Many of these applications are held up in the review procedure so that the applicants are left waiting for months while the Soviet Government claims to be processing their request to emigrate to Israel. In the meantime. they are dismissed from their jobs and forced to take menial Jobs or risk criminal prosecution. Sometimes their children are expelled from colleges or universities or their personal property is confiscated. Accompanying this low rate of emigration is a stepped up effort on the part of the Soviet Government to erase the Jewish culture from the Soviet Union. Their attack has been focused on Hebrew teachers and Jewish activists. These outspoken members of the Jewish community have been the targets of searches. threats. and arrests by the Soviet Government.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration Emigration