Soviet authorities have canceled arbitrarily agreements with organizations and firms in Israel who organize tourist visits to Russia or send parcels from Israelis to relatives in the Soviet Union, it was learned here today. The Soviet action evoked surprise because tourism and the movement of parcels has not usually been affected by shifts in the diplomatic situation.
The action, it was believed here, may have been part of an official Soviet campaign against “Israeli aggression” launched during the June Middle East crisis and continued since then throughout the Soviet Union with strong anti-Semitic undertones.
The themes of “cooperation between the neo-Nazis and Israel” and “German militarists are studying the lessons of the Sinai campaign with the help of the Israelis” recur repeatedly at public meetings in southern Russia, the Asiatic Soviet republics and in the Baltic countries. Another popular theme spread, presumably with official Soviet blessings, is that “racial discrimination” is widespread in Israel and that European-background Israelis are practicing “Nazi-like” discrimination against Oriental Jews.
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.
