[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 367 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 367

  Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the mass movement for Soviet 
Jewish freedom and the 20th anniversary of the Freedom Sunday rally for 
                   Soviet Jewry on the National Mall.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 6, 2007

Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Smith, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. 
   Biden, Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Martinez, Mr. 
 Lautenberg, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Wyden, and 
 Mr. Casey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the mass movement for Soviet 
Jewish freedom and the 20th anniversary of the Freedom Sunday rally for 
                   Soviet Jewry on the National Mall.

Whereas Jews living in the former Soviet Union were an oppressed cultural 
        minority who faced systematic, state-sponsored discrimination and 
        difficulties in exercising their religion and culture, including the 
        study of the Hebrew language;
Whereas, in 1964, the American Jewish Conference on Soviet Jewry (AJCSJ) was 
        founded to spearhead a national campaign on behalf of Soviet Jewry;
Whereas, in 1964, the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry was founded to demand 
        freedom for Soviet Jewry;
Whereas, in 1964, thousands of college students rallied on behalf of Soviet 
        Jewry in front of the United Nations;
Whereas Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War inspired Soviet Jews to 
        intensify their efforts to win the right to emigrate;
Whereas, in 1967, the Soviet Union began an anti-Zionist propaganda campaign in 
        the state-controlled mass media and a crackdown on Jewish autonomy, 
        galvanizing a mass advocacy movement in the United States;
Whereas the Union of Councils for Soviet Jewry was founded in 1970 as a 
        coalition of local grassroots ``action'' councils supporting freedom for 
        the Jews of the Soviet Union;
Whereas, in 1971, the severe sentences, including death, meted out to 9 Jews 
        from Leningrad who attempted to hijack a plane to flee the Soviet Union 
        spurred worldwide protests;
Whereas, in 1971, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) succeeded the 
        AJCSJ;
Whereas, in 1971, mass emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union began;
Whereas, in 1974, Senator Henry ``Scoop'' Jackson and Congressman Charles Vanik 
        successfully attached an amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 linking 
        trade benefits, now known as Normal Trade Relations, to the emigration 
        and human rights practices of Communist countries, including the Soviet 
        Union;
Whereas, in 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed into law the Jackson-Vanik 
        amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, after both houses of Congress 
        unanimously backed it;
Whereas, in 1978, the Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry was founded;
Whereas, in 1982, President Ronald Reagan signed into law House Joint Resolution 
        373 (subsequently Public Law 97-157), expressing the sense of the 
        Congress that the Soviet Union should cease its repressive actions 
        against those who seek the freedom to emigrate or to practice their 
        religious or cultural traditions, drawing special attention to the 
        hardships and discrimination imposed upon the Jewish community in the 
        Soviet Union;
Whereas, in 1983, the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus was founded 
        to advance the cause of human rights;
Whereas, in 1984, the Congressional Coalition for Soviet Jews was founded;
Whereas, on December 6, 1987, an estimated 250,000 people demonstrated on the 
        National Mall in Washington, DC, in support of freedom for Soviet Jews, 
        in advance of a summit between Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan;
Whereas, in 1989, the former Soviet Union opened its doors to allow the millions 
        of Soviet Jews who had been held as virtual prisoners within their own 
        country to leave the country;
Whereas, in 1991, the Supreme Soviet passed a law that codified the right of 
        every citizen of the Soviet Union to emigrate, precipitating massive 
        emigration by Jews, primarily to Israel and the United States;
Whereas, since 1975, more than 500,000 refugees from areas of the former Soviet 
        Union--many of them Jews, evangelical Christians, and Catholics--have 
        resettled in the United States;
Whereas the Soviet Jewish community in the United States today numbers between 
        750,000 and 1,000,000, though some estimates are twice as high;
Whereas Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union have greatly enriched the 
        United States in areas as diverse as business, professional sports, the 
        arts, politics, and philanthropy;
Whereas, in 1992, Congress passed the Freedom Support Act, making aid for the 15 
        independent states of the former Soviet Union contingent on progress 
        toward democratic self-government and respect for human rights;
Whereas, since 2000, more than 400 independent Jewish cultural organizations and 
        30 Jewish day schools have been established in the independent states of 
        the former Soviet Union; and
Whereas the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and its partner organizations 
        continue to work to promote the safety and human rights of Jews in the 
        independent states of the former Soviet Union: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the significant contributions of American 
        citizens of Jewish descent who emigrated from the Soviet Union;
            (2) commemorates the 40th anniversary of the mass movement 
        for freedom by and on behalf of Soviet Jewry;
            (3) commemorates the 20th anniversary of the December 6, 
        1987, Freedom Sunday rally, a major landmark of Jewish activism 
        in the United States; and
            (4) condemns incidents of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and 
        religious persecution wherever they may occur in the 
        independent states of the former Soviet Union and encourages 
        the development and deepening of democracy, religious freedom, 
        rule of law, and human rights in those states.
                                 <all>