They are expressing their support of Soviet Jews and their desire to see human rights improvements in the Soviet Union. Although General Secretary Gorbachev made several promising assurances on these issues in his recently televised interview. there is still reason for concern. According to Gorbachev. the only Soviet Jews who are being denied permission to emigrate are "those who cannot leave because of state security reasons." He went on to say that "there are no other reasons" for the denial of exit visas. Unfortunately. these statements are not supported by the Soviet record on emigration. According to the U.S. Council on Soviet Jewry and the Israeli Embassy. nearly 400.000 Soviet Jews have shown interest in emigration. While the Soviet government permitted 51.000 Jews to emigrate as recently as 1979. the level fell dramatically to 1.140 in 1985 and 914 in 1987. There is no evidence that this change was due to a sudden decrease in either the number of applicants for emigration or a miraculous increase in the percentage of applicants who would be security risks. Recently. Jewish emigration has climbed to a level of 800 to 900 per month. but this level is still far below 1979 levels. If General Secretary Gorbachev wants to be taken seriously by the American people and their elected representatives. he must back up his words with actions. There is no reason why Jewish emigration should not again rise above 50.000 per year. The issue is one of human dignity and basic human rights. Soviet emigration policy has needlessly divided families. often until death. In addition Soviet restrictions on teaching Yiddish and Hebrew. as well as the absence of rabbinical instruction. threaten to permanently divide Soviet Jews from their cultural heritage. Mr.
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emigrate emigration visas