One of the most profound experiences that I encountered on this trip was our meeting with several Soviet refuseniks. The issue of Soviet Jewry is one that has been of particular concern to me. The rate of Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has declined 97 percent over the past 5 years. Fewer than 1.000 Jews were allowed to leave the U.S.S.R. during 1984. As my colleagues know. Soviet Jews comprise the third largest surviving Jewish community in the world. and they have been struggling to achieve basic human rights. including the right tn maintain their own religion and culture. The right to leave any country that denies one their heritage is an internationally recognized human right. yet in the Soviet Union permission to emigrate is given arbitrarily. I believe it is crucial that with this wave of antiSemitism. America must reaffirm the commitment of human rights.
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emigrate emigration