Mr. Speaker. last week. Kiev refuseniks Lev and Inna Elbert began a hunger strike in an attempt to convince the Soviet authorities to grant them permission to emigrate to Israel. On very short notice. many of our colleagues joined me in sending a telegram to General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. dated March 6. asking that he intervene on behalf of the Elberts. I want to express my thanks to my colleagues who were so quick to help out with this humanitarian appeal. On March 17. I plan to send a followup telegram to General Secretary Gorbachev. with this text: As Members of Congress. we wish to express our deep concern about the Elbert family of Kiev as their hunger strike continues. Please grant them an exit visa so they can rejoin their family in Israel as is their right under the Helsinki Final Act. the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. and Soviet emigration law. I would be most grateful for your support on this followup telegram. Since 1976. when they first applied for an exit visa. Lev and Inna and their son Karmi have paid a high price for their attempts to emigrate. They have been harassed and their health has suffered. The Ukrainian press has singled them out for mention in antiSemitic articles.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visa