Speaker. on May 11. Solidarity Sunday will be commemorated at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York. Solidarity Sunday represents an outpouring of public support for Soviet Jews who. yearning to emigrate to freedom. must endure harassment. imprisonment. and worse inside the Soviet Union. I join with my colleagues in the House today in commemorating Solidarity Sunday. and in reiterating my support. and the support of the Congress and the people of the United States. for Soviet Jewry. Last February. the free world cheered the release of Anatoly Shcharansky. who spent 9 long years in prison for his simple desire to emigrate from the Soviet Union. The release of Mr. Shcharansky. who had become a living symbol of courageous support for human rights. was a welcome development in an otherwise bleak period for Soviet Jews seeking their freedom. In 1979. 51.320 Soviet Jews were permitted to emigrate. Last year. only 1.140 Jews were permitted to leave the Soviet Union. yet as many as 400.000 Soviet Jews reportedly wish to emigrate. Mr. Speaker. Soviet Jews must live in constant fear of harassment or imprisonment for practicing their religion. for criticizing their government. or for simply seeking to emigrate to Israel. While we cheer the release of Anatoly Shcharansky. we must rededicate ourselves to winning the release of the hundreds of thousands of other Soviet Jews who remain behind.
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