Speech #990154324

I believe our best tribute to Mr. Shcharansky would be our rededication and a confirmation of our commitment to the Jewish people of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Unions emigration policies and their antiSemetic attitudes toward Soviet Jewry continue to be a matter of grave concern. In 1979. 51.320 Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. In 1984. however. only 896 Jews were allowed to leave. There has been little improvement since 1984 with only 1.140 Jews leaving the Soviet Union in that year. We have all heard representatives from the Soviet Union state that all the Soviet Jews who desire to leave the Soviet Union have done so. However. the fact remains that there are over 350.000 individuals who requested and were sent affidavits from Israel. the first step in the process of family reunification. Clearly. there are Jews in the Soviet Union who desperately want to rejoin their families. The release of Anatoly Shcharansky may indeed mark the beginning of an improvement in the Soviets policies.