Speech #1020140765

As Stalin once said. "a single death is a tragedy. a million deaths is a statistic." Our goal is to rid the refuseniks of the anonymity which allows us to forget them. By highlighting the individual hopes and heartaches of the refuseniks. we keep their struggle alive. I speak today on behalf of Revmir Kanevsky. one of many who has been refused the right to emigration. on the basis of possessing State secrets or because they have been unable to obtain the necessary poor relative documentation. In November 1979. Revmir quit his Job at the Separated Bureau of Constructors in the Lianosovo Electronical Mechanical Factory. After 10 years. in July 1989. Revmir and his wife applied to emigrate to Israel and were refused 6 months later on the basis of state secrets. He was instructed not to apply again until 199415 years after leaving his former work. He is anxious to see once again his 95 yearold mother who is growing increasingly blind. He remains unable to visit his daughter and grandson in Israel. and his mother and sister in the United States. It is in our selfinterest to make sure that the Commonwealth of Independent Republics understands the high value we place on religious tolerance. free emigration. and the basic right to live and work without fear. We cannot forget that the right to live as one chooses is as important as the right to live. I am proud of the role Congress has played in turning the dream of free emigration into a reality. On a trip to the Soviet Union in August 1990. I held extensive discussions with Soviet For. eign Ministry officials on this subject and presented a letter to the Kremlin leadership urging prompt passage of Soviet emigration legislation. The culmination of our efforts came in may 1991. when the Supreme Soviet adopted historic legislation to liberalize Soviet emigration policy. Nevertheless. serious stumbling blocks to free and open emigration remain. The law will not be fully implemented until January 1. 1993. and the vague definitions in the legislation leaves it open to broad interpretation. The welcomed political liberalization in the former Soviet Union has also been accompanied by a disturbing increase in antisemitism. I urge Russian President Yeltsin and the leaders of the republics to denounce this behavior openly and to enact and enforce laws protecting Jews. We cannot. however. risk waiting for steps that may or may not be taken by the authorities. The history of antisemitism in the former Soviet Union makes it imperative that we move quickly to gain free emigration for all those wishing to leave. We survey with joy and pride the tremendous progress in the Soviet Union. Through our continuing efforts and those of the Union of Councils For Soviet Jews. we have enabled many Soviet Jews to gain their freedom.