The situation for the Soviet Jews is as critical now as it has ever been. The statistics tell a grim story. Recent figures indicate that 97 Jews were allowed to emigrate in March of this yeara slight improvement over the same period in 1984 but still distressingly low. In fact. this years statistics are remarkably similar to those of last yeara time when the total number of exit visas issued reached an all time low of 896. Numbers alone. however. do not convey the desperate circumstances now facing Soviet Jews. The very existence of the refusenik community is increasingly jeopardized as the Soviet Government seeks to repress Jewish cultural life. The teaching of Hebrew is punishable by 7 years of hard labor and many teachers have been arrested. Expressing a desire to emigrate leads to the loss of ones job and the beginning of a life of persecution and hardship. It becomes more difficult every day for the refuseniks to hold onto their Jewish heritage. Now is clearly the time for action. and for a renewal of our commitment to human rights for Soviet Jews.
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emigrate visas