It is in this area that the gap between the Soviet Unions promise and reality is the widest. And. no where is this neglect more evident than in the plight of the Soviet Jews. The veneer of glasnost loses its sheen upon close inspection of emigration rates from the Soviet Union which continue to be extraordinary low. Last year. only 914 persons were allowed to leave. Our hopes for peace should not blind us to the 400.000 refuseniks who want desperately to reunify with family members abroad and who daily ride a roller coaster of hope and despair. The tragic bottom line is that today over 2.5 million Jews are trapped in a country thats impossible for them to live in and yet impossible to leave. Since 1979. Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has dropped by a shocking 98 percent. As the pace of United StatesSoviet diplomatic activities accelerates. the issue of human rights in the U.S.S.R. must emerge as the true test of the Soviet commitment to reforms. Improving humans rights is a reasonable litmus test. Certainly Jewish emigration policies are easier by far to change than restructuring the Soviet economy or ending the war in Afghanistan. As committed as Mr. Gorbachev may be to reform. it is vital to recognize that not all Soviets are comfortable with glasnost.
Identified stereotypes
The paragraph generalizes that 2.5 million Jews are trapped in a country that's impossible for them to live in and yet impossible to leave.