Speech #990011133

An official AntiZionist Committee has been established. Jewish schools are forbidden. and the doors to higher Soviet education are closed to many qualified .Yewish applicants. Degrees held by distinguished Jewish scientists who applied to emigrate have been revoked. effectively shutting them out from contributing to th: academic community. Soviet Jews are not free to pass their culture and traditions on to their children. to practice their religion and pray in the few synagogues which remain open. Those who apply for emigration visas to escape this oppressed way of life not only have their applications denied. but subsequently may find themselves jobless or having to deal with cut telephone lines. undelivered mail. or other forms of harassment. Those who actively protest too often. often end up beaten and imprisoned. These depressing conditions have existed for years. but now is a time of particular concern because there is every indication that the Government is stepping up its efforts to crush Soviet Jewry. While some 350.000 Jews in the Soviet Union have expressed an interest in emigrating to Israel or elsewhere. less than 1.000 were permitted to leave last year. This is dramatically down from the peak year total of 51.000 who emigrated in 1979. and the situation does not seem likely to improve for 1985. Another alarming example of current Soviet policy is the increased persecution of teachers of Hebrew. five of whom have been convicted of various charges in the last few months. Yakov Levin of Odessa has been sentenced to 3 years in a labor camp for antiSoviet slander.