I urge my colleagues to take this opportunity to reflect on the plight of the 1.400 Jews who today continue to live a fearful existence in Syria. held hostage by the brutal dictator Hafez Assad and forbidden to travel. Over the years. Syrian Jews have been arrested. held without trial. and tortured. In April. 1992. after years of pressure from Congress and the executive branch. the Syrian Government began allowing Jews to leave the country. Twentyseven hundred visas were issued and 2.500 people arrived in the United States. However. since October 1992. very few exit permits have been granted. Despite Syrian Government protestations that the travel policy for Jews has not changed. only a small number of individuals have been permitted to leave in the past months.