H. Res. 759 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
October 30, 2007. 
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, Soviets launched an anti-Zionist propa-
ganda campaign in the state-controlled mass media, and 
a crackdown on Jewish autonomy, galvanizing a mass ad-
vocacy movement in the United States; 
Whereas, in 1970, the Union of Councils for Soviet Jewry 
was founded as a coalition of local grass-roots ‘‘action’’ 
councils supporting freedom for Jews of the Soviet 
Union; 
Whereas, in 1971, the severe sentences, including death, 
meted out to nine Leningrad Jews who attempted to hi-
jack a plane to flee the Soviet Union spurred worldwide 
protests;
•HRES 759 EH 
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 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed into law 
the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974, 
prohibiting the extension of trade benefits to countries 
that limit emigration, and otherwise infringe basic human 
rights; 
Whereas, in 1978, the Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry 
was founded; 
Whereas, in 1982, President Ronald Reagan enacted Public 
Law 97–157, expressing the sense of the Congress that 
the Soviet Union should cease its repressive actions 
against those individuals who seek the freedom to emi-
grate or to practice their religious or cultural traditions, 
drawing special attention to the hardships and discrimi-
nation 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, in 1987, an estimated 250,000 people demonstrated 
on the Mall in Washington before the start of the 
Reagan-Gorbachev summit, in an unprecedented rally 
that helped give the issue added visibility on the national 
scene;
•HRES 759 EH 
Whereas, in 1989, the Soviet Union opened its doors to the 
millions of Soviet Jews who had been held as virtual pris-
oners within their own country; 
Whereas, in 1991, the Supreme Soviet passed a law that 
codified the right of every Soviet citizen to emigrate, pre-
cipitating massive emigration by Jews from the Soviet 
Union, primarily to Israel and the United States; 
Whereas the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the 
Soviet Union and former Soviet republics have greatly 
enriched their new-found homes in areas as diverse as 
business, professional sports, the arts, politics, and phi-
lanthropy; 
Whereas, in 1992, Congress passed the Freedom Support 
Act, making aid for the fifteen former Soviet republics 
contingent on progress towards the implementation of a 
democratic system, and respect for human rights; 
Whereas, since 2000, more than 400 independent Jewish cul-
tural organizations and 30 Jewish day schools have been 
established in the former Soviet Union, giving rise to a 
renewal of Jewish life; 
Whereas NCSJ and its partners have performed exceptionally 
by continually promoting the safety and security of Jews 
in the former Soviet Union; 
Whereas continued acts of anti-Semitism and xenophobia in 
the former Soviet Union are reprehensible and respect for 
democracy, religious freedom, and human rights in the 
former Soviet republics needs promotion and strength-
ening; and 
Whereas it is the 40th anniversary of the mass movement for 
freedom by and on behalf of Soviet Jewry: Now, there-
fore, be it
•HRES 759 EH 
Resolved, That Congress recognizes the 20th anniversary 
of the Freedom Sunday Rally for Soviet Jews in Washington, 
DC, which embodies the American principle of citizen activ-
ism for the greater good. 
Attest: 
Clerk.