From September 1984 to February 1985. 11 Jews were arrested and 4 were sentenced to labor camps during a Moscow crackdown on Hebrew teachers and other Jewish cultural activists. During Gorbachevs first months in office. from March to October 1985. an average of one Hebrew teacher per month was jailed. On the question of emigration. there are still 11.000 refuseniks who have applied for emigrationsome have risked persecution and jail by applying over and over againonly to be refused permission. While emigration is up slightly under Gorbachev. todays level is still far below historic levels. Soviet emigration levels fluctuated between 13.000 and 34.000 during the 1970s. reaching an alltime high of 51.300 in 1979. Since then. however. Soviet emigration has fallen precipitously. to 21.000 in 1980. 9.400 in 1981. and a record low 896 in 1984. During the fi.st 6 months of 1987. emigration has rebounded to an annual rate of roughly 6.000. but this is nowhere near pre1980 levels. Four hundred thousand Jews wish to leave the Soviet Unionthat number is the most important measure of Soviet performance on human rights and emigration policy. In the early 1970s. Western sources learned that the Soviet Union had begun to levy high educational fees on all Soviet citizens wishing to emigrate for permanent residence in nonCommunist countries. Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of my own State of Washington and Congressman Charles Vanik passed legislation to prohibit favorable trade treatmentmostfavorednation statusfor any "nonmarket" economy country which denies its citizens the right to emigrate or imposes on their emigration more than nominal exit visa or other fees.
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emigrationsome emigrate emigration visa