Speech #990013252

Against enormous odds. Jews in the Soviet Union continue to display indominable spirit and courage. We are here today to express our solidarity with their struggle and to implore the Soviets once again to cease the harassment and persecution of the Jewish population and to allow those who wish to do so to emigrate. Sadly. in recent years Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has slowed to a trickle. In 1979. 51.320 Jews were allowed to emigrate while last year only 896 were granted permission to leave. According to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. there are approximately 2 million Jews in the Soviet Union and of that number between 200.000 and 300.000 are either refuseniks or have applied for permission to emigrate and are awaiting official word on their applications. As permission to emigrate continues to be denied to the majority of Jews. the situation for those trapped in the Soviet Union has become increasingly desperate. They have become the victims of an intensified campaign which appears to be aimed at stiffling all Jewish tradition. This government sanctioned campaign has taken on many ugly forms including increased antiSemitic propaganda. A program shown widely on Soviet television last November entitled. "Hirelings and Their Accomplices" depicted Soviet Jews as being Zionist agents who were part of a Western conspiracy to overthrow the government. Refuseniks have been the targets of stepped up harassment and many Hebrew teachers have been arrested on spurious charges. One refusenik who has suffered greatly as a result of his desire to emigrate is Alexandr Kholmyansky. one of a group of young Jews trying to keep Jewish tradition alive by teaching Hebrew. Mr. Kholmyansky first applied for permission to emigrate in 1978. Last July he was arrested and sentenced to 10 days in jail for stepping on flowers in a public park. At the end of that period he was held for further investigation on a charge of hooliganism and tampering with a mailbox.