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Church: USSR Must Be Held to the Helsinki Agreement

April 5, 1977
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Sen. Frank Church (D. Idaho) said here that the Soviet Union must be held to the Helsinki agreement which provides for the free movement of people and the right of all people to emigrate. Speaking to more than 800 delegates at the first Baltimore Conference on Soviet Jewry last week, Church emphasized the importance of the U.S. government striking a balance between pragmatism and principle in foreign policy. He said that with the support of President Carter, this country was once again embarking on a policy based on the ideals of American society.

The conference, which was called by the Baltimore Jewish Council, heard Avital (Natalia) Sharansky make an appeal on behalf of her husband, Anatoly Sharansky, who was recently arrested by the KGB in Moscow and threatened with charges of treason and espionage. The Rev. Robert Patterson, of Baltimore’s Church of the Redeemer, presented a “Call to Religious Conscience” signed by leaders of Religious Conscience” signed by leaders of various Christian denominations here expressing Christian support of the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate.

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