Speech #990018399

Mr. President. todays New York Times carries an unconfirmed report from Jerusalem that the Government of the Soviet Union will permit 280 Jewish families. about 1.000 persons. to emigrate to Israel in the next few days. This would be welcome news indeed. if true. and could only be interpreted as a signal of a Soviet desire to Improve upon a very dismal record in this areasomething to be encouraged and expanded in every way possible. I would like to take this opportunity to urge President Reagan to build on such good will as this may Indicate is present on the part of the new Soviet leadership. and to enter negotiations with the Soviet Government that could lead both to a regularization of Soviet emigration policy and a lessening of the harassment of Soviet Jews who remain in the U.S.S.R. that was clearly the policy of Mikhail Gorbachevs predecessors. It will be recalled that on March 8. 1985. I was Joined by my colleague from New York. Representative JACK KEMP. at a press conference where we announced that 249 of our congressional colleagues had joined us in signing a letter to President Reagan. urging that he initiate such negotiations with the Soviet Union. As many Senators are aware. the number of Soviet Jews permitted to emigrate has in recent years declined to miniscule proportions. even as officially sanctioned harassment of Soviet Jews has increased. Our letter urged the President to invite the Soviet Union to enter into discussions dealing solely with the free emigration of the large number of Jews who seek to leave the Soviet Union. and with release of the prisoners of Zion. in keeping with the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. The reference to the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. signed at Helsinki. August 1. 1975. was carefully made. The Helsinki Final Act was of course not addressed only to emigration. It was a broadly conceived package of pledges undertaken by the 35 nations of Europe and North America to one another on military. economic. social. political. and humanitarian subjects. It was not a treaty. as that term is normally understood in international law.