I would like to draw my colleagues attention to the 1985 annual survey on Soviet Jewry done by the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and the Coalition to Free Soviet Jews. The survey reviews the plight of Soviet Jews over the past year and describes the outlook for the future. Unfortunately. despite hopes raised by the Geneva summit. the picture for Soviet Jews remains bleak. and the need for continued efforts on behalf of this beleaguered community remains urgent. In 1985. emigration levels remained relatively constant at a low level. with a little over 1.000 Jews permitted to leave during the year. But the survey points out that harassment of Jewish activists through arrests. trials. and other methods increased dramatically in 1985. And the vicious press campaign attacking Israel.
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emigration