Speech #1000019825

Speaker. today over 2V2 million Jews are trapped in a country thats impossible for them to live in. and impossible to leave. Since 1979. Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has plummeted by a shocking 98 percent. In 1979. a record number of Soviet Jews emigrated from the Soviet Union51.320. In 1984. only 896 Jews were allowed to leave. This figure represents the first time since the landmark Leningrad trials of 197071 that fewer than 1.000 Jews received permission to leave in a single year. For those Jews who remain behind. life has become more miserable than ever. Once a Jew applies to leave the Soviet Union. in order to live freely as a Jew or be reunited with family members in Israel. his or her entire life changes. Wouldbe emigrants are fired from their jobs. and may then be arrested for not having one. Of the 20.000 refuseniks who have already been denied permission to emigrate. some have waited for over 15 years. Almost 400.000 have begun the difficult and uncertain emigration process. The emigration process Is extremely difficult and requires a tremendous amount of documentation. and many obstacles are placed in their way. All applicants for exit visas must submit copies of the following to the local visa office: invitation from relatives in Israel. document of employment status. proof of residency. birth and marriage certificates. photographs. university diplomas. statement of intent and autobiography. parental or spousal permissions. and feecost for a family of four is approximately $5.880. There are various reasons that permission to emigrate is denied. Among these are: denial of visa on the basis of access to state secrets. minimum 5year waiting period following military service. and restrictions of invitations to first degree relatives living in Israel. Once an application is denied. another cannot be filed for 6 months. In addition. refuseniks must now submit a completely new set of documents each time they reapply. Those Soviet Jews who have applied to emigrate and have been denied. dont give in. and they dont give up. Stubbornly and repeatedly they bring their application to the visa office. Their reason to emigrate 1 or 3 or 15 years ago. their desire to live in Israel. to reunite with their families. is bolstered by a new reason: A person should not live in a country where their right to practice their religion is denied. I would like to cite the example of one family who has tried to emigrate from the Soveit Union since 1978 and have been denied. Mark and Frieda Budnyatsky and their daughter. Anne. first applied for visas in December 1978. Permission to emigrate was denied in July 1979. on the grounds of access to secret information. Mark Budnyatsky was an electronics engineer who worked in a scientific research laboratory. Frieda Budnyatsky was a chemical engineer. They left their jobs prior to applying for emigration. so that could not be used as a reason to deny permission to emigrate. however. it was. and they were told it would be at least 10 years before they could reapply. Mark now stokes a boiler and Frieda is a file clerk. This family could lead very productive. fulfilled lives outside the Soviet Union and that is what they seek. the opportunity to emigrate. The Budnyatskys should not have to wait 10 years to realize their dream of a life free to celebrate their holidays and practice their religion. I applaud the efforts of the many individuals. including Morris Abram. chairman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. and Edgar Bronfman. chairman of the World Jewish Congress. who have worked tirelessly on behalf of those Soviet Jews who wish to emigrate. especially the 11.000 longterm refuseniks. such as the Budnyatskys. whose previous applications have been rejected. Our purpose here today is to assist in those efforts. to bring attention to the plight of these people seeking refuge from cultural and religious harrassment. to help make the prediction of the promise of emigration. a reality.