On this Fourth of July I had the privilege of learning what it is like to be without freedom and I can tell you that is an excellent lesson in appreciating the liberty we have here in America. Mr. Speaker. we have all heard the grim statistics of the steady decline in Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union. 1979 marked the high point of Jewish emigration when 51.320 Jews received permission to leave the Soviet Union. Since that year. the decline has been constant and dramatic. In 1980. 21.471 Jews emigrated. In 1982. only 2.688 were permitted to leave. By 1984 the number had dwindled to a mere 896 and if the trends established in the first 6 months of 1985 continue. this year will prove no better for the thousands of Soviet Jews waiting to be reunited with their families in Israel. the United States. and elsewhere around the globe.
Keywords matched
emigration emigrated