I am pleased to join my colleagues today in this special order on Soviet Jewry. On the eve of the Soviet Party Congress it Is most fitting that Members of the U.S. Congress reaffirm our Nations interest in improving Soviet emigration policies and ending the unjust treatment of Jews in the Soviet Union. The November summit in Geneva and the recent release of Soviet dissident Anatoly Shcharansky have given us some cause for hope. But. still there is no concrete evidence of real improvement in the plight of the Soviet Jews. To the contrary. reports of arrests. trials. and other forms of harassment of Jewish activists have risen alarmingly. In late December. the Soviet Union issued a statemont labeling the rumors of an imminent largescale Jewish emigration a "vicious lie." All indications are that the Soviet Union will continue the highly restrictive emigration policy which has become more pronounced in recent years. Under the new Soviet leadership the crude harassment and imprisonment of Hebrew teachers and Jewish cultural activists continues. The maltreatment of Jews in prison and camps has worsened and the violation of human rights ranges from the denial of correspondence and visitors. to long periods of isolation and physical abuses by guards and fellow prisoners.
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emigration