They have been arrested and imprisoned on trumpedup charges of drug possession. ammunitions and weapons possession. and "hooliganism." One prisoner. Josef Berenshtein. a Hebrew teacher from Kiev. was so badly beaten in prison. that last week he was pronounced by medical authorities there as 99.4 percent blind. Authorities at the prison claim that he "accidently gouged out one of his eyes while peeling potatoes." While Soviet authorities falsely claim that all those who wish to emigrate have done so. I know that there are countless Jews in the Soviet Union denied the right to be reunited with their families in the United States. Israel. and in other free countries of the world. Communication between refuseniks. those who have been denied visas. and friends and family in the West are frustrated by officially sanctioned antiSemitism. which seeks to impede communication with those freedom loving people. Last year only 896 Jews were permitted to leave the Soviet Union. the lowest in recent history. The Soviet Union. as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act. has pledged that its citizens may emigrate freely. However. Soviet Jews and other minorities have been consistently denied this right. Last month. only 88 Jews were permitted to leave. If emigration continues at the present rate. this years numbers may be lower. This spells tragedy for Soviet Jewry. as well as other persecuted minorities in the Soviet Union. I am hopeful that statements such as this will serve as a reminder to Soviet authorities that the U.S.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visas