Mr. President. it is a privilege to join my colleagues on this International Day of Concern for Soviet Jews and express our collective support for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate. to practice their religion without constraint and to study their history and culture without interference from state authorities. Today is the seventh anniversary of the arrest of Anatoly Shcharansky and. as such. marks the day with a special. poignant sadness. Today will mark as well the conclusion of a week of solidarity in which people around the globe have demonstrated in one form or another their opposition to Soviet repression of Jews and have renewed their calls for the restoration of a basic respect for human rights by that nations leadership. Last year only 1.315 Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. This was the smallest number since 1970 and represents a dramatic decrease from the levels of 1979 when 51.320 were allowed to leave. On Tuesday. Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir eloquently described the plight of those Soviet Jews who are seeking to emigrate when he said: They walk as shadows. with neither work nor livelihood. without reason to live. cut off and miserable. The plight of the Soviet Jew. Mr.
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