Speech #990013240

Speaker. I rise to join my colleagues in calling attention to the desperate plight of Jews living in the Soviet Union. in conjunction with the Third Congressional Fast and Prayer Vigil for Soviet Jewry. Today nearly 400.000 Jews who have indicated their desire to emigrate to Israel and practice their religion in freedom are being held hostage by the Communists. In recent months arrests. harassment. and officially sanctioned antiSemitism have increased and emigration has fallen off significantly. During the last 10 years. emigration has dropped from a high point of 51.320 in 1979 to 896 in 1984. and I would like to share with my colleagues a listing of Soviet Jewry emigration from 1965 to 1984 which demonstrates dramatically that the Communists are moving toward sealing shut the emigration door. These figures follow: Jewish emigration from the U.S.S.R. 1965June 1967 .................................... 4.498 Oct. 19681970 .................. 4.235 1971 .......................................................... 13.022 1972 .......................................................... 31.681 1973 .......................................................... 34.733 1974 .......................................................... 20.628 1975 .......................................................... 13.221 1976 .......................................................... 14.261 1977 .......................................................... 16.736 1978 .......................................................... 28.864 1979 .......................................................... 51.320 1980 .......................................................... 21.471 1981 .......................................................... 9.447 1982 .......................................................... 2.688 1983 .......................................................... 1.314 1984 .......................................................... 896 Prisoners of conscience. like Anatoly Shcharansky and Josef Begun. and scores more languish in Soviet Jails and work camps. Perhaps no recent incident is more representative of the brutality of the Communists than that of the beating of Josheph Berenshtein of Kiev. He received a 4year sentence on December 12. 1984. on trumpedup charges solely because he desires to emigrate to Israel. In prison. he was beaten so severely by the Soviet authorities while in custody that one eye had been gouged out. and he has lost sight in the other eye as well. Despite these cruel acts of the Communists and the most tormenting of circumstances. prisoners of conscience and refuseniks remain steadfast to their ideals. These brave men and women have become a symbol of strength and a source of inspiration for hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Soviet Union. and indeed for all people throughout the world trying to escape the yoke of Communist oppression. Because the current situation is so severe. I have joined with my colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate to urge the President to call upon the Soviet Union to enter into discussions dealing solely with the emigration of Jews from Russia and the immediate release of all Jewish prisoners of conscience. In addition. because there is uncertainty about the destiny of Soviet Jewry under the new leadership in the Kremlin. I joined with my colleagues in the House of Representatives and the Senate in contacting the new SecretaryGeneral of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.