US Jews ask for pressure on Soviets for emigration

Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union has slowed to the lowest level in a decade and US Jews want the administration to press the issue, according to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry.

In the early 1970s, the Soviets greatly relaxed their emigration policies and large numbers of Jews were allowed to leave the country. The emigration wave crested in 1979, with more than 51,000 Jews leaving.

But in 1980 the figures began to drop sharply and this past August the number fell to 430.