Speech #1000019815

I had a chance to meet briefly with Alexander Slfpak. Mr. Slfpak is nearly a third of the way through a 17day hunger strike which symbolizes the 17 years his parents have been denied permission to emigrate. Why is that? The Soviets say its because of the fact that they formerly held jobs which exposed them to government secrets. Perhaps. But it has been nearly two decades since they were even remotely involved in any such worka time that found Vladimir Slepak having spent 5 years in jail for his efforts to try and emigrate. The Soviets say they are practicing Glasnost or openness. but the evidence is difficult to find. And. even members of our own press fall victim to the Soviets efforts. A recent segment of the CBS program "60 Minutes" proved to be a big disservice to the efforts help refuseniks win their battle to leave the Soviet Union. Did the crew and reporters think for a minute that they were really presented an accurate picture of Soviet Jewry? Their claim that Soviet Jews more or less live satisfying lives flies in the fact of the nearly 400.000 Jews who continue to wait for permission to emigrate. Jews who have been subject to harassment. removal from their jobs. exile and/or prison for simply having made that request. In todays New York Times. there is a report that Moscow is preparing to allowwhat it callsa major increase in Jewish emigration. In addition. the Soviets say they will soon allow the importation of religious books. an opening of synagogues where there is a demonstrated need. and the establishment of a kosher restaurant. Meanwhile. only last month. the Soviet named eight refusenik families who they said would never be permitted to emigrate because of their earlier employment in secret government work. Mr. Slpak. who I mentioned earlier. is the son of one of those families. Yet. again today in that same New York Times article. we read that those 8 families would be allowed to have their cases reviewed. Clearly. if the Soviet Government is sincere and if glasnost is to have any real meaning. then those 8 familiesand all Soviet families who desire to emigrateshould be granted permission to do so unconditionally. Lets see some actionsince actions do speak louder than words. Let us see Jews in the Soviet Union practicing their religion openly and unchallenged.