Soviet police have launched an intensive search for the arsonists who fired the synagogue and cottage of the caretaker of the Jewish cemetery in Malakhovka, a Moscow suburb, according to information reaching here today.
Despite vehement denials by Kol Haam, the Communist daily here, it was reported reliably here that the arson and the spreading of anti-Semitic leaflets in the area by the arsonists not only definitely did happen but also that it was widely known in Moscow where the news spread quickly among Moscow Jews.
Israel circles are convinced that the Soviet regime did not intend the arson and might have been shocked by it. They felt, however, that Soviet authorities should look into a possible connection between the arson and the anti-Semitic tone of many articles published in various Communist newspapers in Russia, particularly in the Ukraine.
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.