Speech #1020008633

The Soviets have responded to American pressure. In light of the upheavals in the Soviet Union. and the uncertainty created. our efforts on behalf of Soviet Jews must be redoubled. While much progress has been made in the Soviet Union. and many thousands of Soviet Jews have been able to emigrate. much more still needs to be done. During 1990. over 147.000 Soviet Jews emigrated from the U.S.S.R. and the numbers are increasing dramatically. However. Mr. President. Soviet rhetoric on perestroika does not match the reality of the situation in the Soviet Union facing Soviet Jews. The right to emigrate is still a dream in the Soviet Union. despite assurances for over 2 years that passage of a freedom of emigration law was imminent. Mr. President. we must continue to work for the right. codified In law. of Soviet Jews to emigrate. to work for the release of political prisoners. and to press for an end to antiSemitic violence in the Soviet Union. Since the introduction of perestroika and glasnost. Mikhail Gorbachev has attempted to change the cultural and political landscape in the Soviet Union.