Speech #990014658

I am pleased to participate today in the 1985 Congressional Call to Conscience. The Call to Conscience. which began in 1976. seeks to illuminate the plight of Soviet Jews and their desperate situation under the tightfisted authoritarianism of the Soviet bureaucratic apparatus. I only hope that an impr wlng climate of reconciliation with the Soviets. as well as a new leader in the Kremlin. will compel the Soviet Government to reevaluate and relax its highly restrictive emigration policy for Soviet Jews. The Soviets must realize that. because the United States was itself founded by emigres escaping the bondage of religious repression. we will not weaken our demands to ensure that Soviet Jews are afforded the human rights that are guaranteed them through international convention. and that are an essential element of human dignity. All facets of our relationship with the Soviets are interdependent. and our concerns about the fate of the Jewish minority in the Soviet Union cannot be forgotten. The relaxation of emigrant quotas for Soviet Jews has long been perceived by the Soviets as a bargaining chip when undergoing discussions with the United States. I deplore this linkage. for no man has the authority to barter with the fate of anothers fundamental human right. Nevertheless. a reversal of Soviet emigration policy would be a significant step toward demonstrating a renewed sense of sincerity in this newly emerging chapter of their history. The history of recent Jewish efforts to emigrate from the Soviet Union can be traced to the 1967 SixDay War. The striking victory won by the Israelis inspired feelings of national identity among Soviet Jews and provided them with a vision of a national life independent of the constant shadow of Soviet domination. Throughout the early 1970s. the movement gained momentum with the activism and courage of such patriots as Anatoly Shcharansky and Ida Nupel. With the conclusion of the Conference on Security and Cooperation In Europe and the subsequent signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975. the prospects for an easing of emigration policy by the Soviets seemed a real and promising possibility. Indeed. for a few short years after the accords. Jews were allowed to leave the Soviet Union in unprecedented numbers. But in 1979 the Soviets negated the word and spirit of the agreement that had been reached In Helsinki. their brutal invasion of Afghanistan put United StatesSoviet relations at their lowest ebb in many yearsand thus extinguished the hopes and aspirations of many Soviet Jews. The Soviets began closing the door to Jews seeking to emigrate and countered with an Intensified campaign of cultural and religious harassment of the Jewish minorIty. The Soviets now equate the promotion of Jewish ethnic and cultural heritage as antiSoviet agitation and propaganda. Within the last 5 years Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has declined dramatically. from 51.320 in 1979 to a mere 896 in 1984a 20year low. Behind the objective image portrayed by these statistics lies a human story of discrimination. harassment. Intimidation. and oppression of the Jewish minority.