MOSCOW (JTA) — Representatives of the Russian Jewish Congress asked the U.S. Congress to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
The appeal was addressed to the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, during a meeting Monday in Moscow that took place on the 36th anniversary of the amendment’s adoption. The amendment restricts Russian trade with the United States.
“The viewpoint of the Jewish community on the problem is that the amendment affects the community negatively now, being a stumbling block in the development of U.S.- Russia relations," Russian Jewish Congress President Yuri Kanner said in a statement.
“We believe that repeal of the amendment will mark positive changes in the life of the Jewish community in Russia since the end of the policy of state anti-Semitism, and will also contribute to the ‘reset’ of relations between Russia and the U.S.”
Beyrle said at the meeting that the amendment’s repeal is a priority for the Obama administration in 2011, according to Kanner.
The Jackson-Vanik amendment is a provision in United States federal law, adopted in 1974, that was intended to pressure the Soviet Union to allow emigration of Jews to Israel. It remains in force but has been waived regularly in recent years.
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