Diplomatic officials from countries behind the Iron Curtain today indicated here that the renewal of relations between the Soviet Union and Israel will lead to the resumption of Jewish emigration from Soviet satellite countries to the Jewish State and to the release of Mordecai Oren, leader of the pro-Soviet Mapam Party in Israel, who has been imprisoned in Czechoslovakia since 1952.
The same officials indicated that the question of allowing Soviet Jewish citizens to emigrate to Israel to join families separated during World War II may be considered. Many Russian Jewish families were separated in The Ukraine and in other parts of the USSR by the Nazis during their invasion of the USSR. Many Jews were removed to concentration camps or slave labor camps in Western Europe and some of the survivors ended up in Israel.
It was also hinted by the diplomats from Communist countries that Israelis may soon be permitted to visit some of the countries behind the Iron Curtain and negotiations for barter deals and generally increased trade between these countries and Israel may be expected. However, well informed sources in Washington view all the above indications with skepticism.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
