An official of the Soviet Council for Religious Affairs told a delegation of American Conservative rabbis in Moscow last month that the Soviet Government would have no objections to invitations to Russian synagogues to affiliate with the World Council of Synagogues, the head of the rabbinical group reported here today.
The World Council is the international organization of Conservative congregations. Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, executive vice-president of the Rabbinical Assembly of America, who headed the delegation, said the matter was one of several raised at a 90-minute meeting on July 26 with Michail Kadikoff.
The delegation pointed out to the Soviet official that the Russian Orthodox Church had ties with the international agencies of that church but that Soviet Jewish congregations did not. The American rabbis then asked whether invitations could be extended to Russian synagogues.
Rabbi Kelman said that the Soviet official replied: “All you have to do is to invite them. Come to us and ask for visas and we will arrange it.” Rabbi Kelman said that Mr. Kadikoff, who spoke fluent English, was well-informed on the issues raised at the meeting, which was arranged by Chief Rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin of Moscow, who made his first visit to the United States in June.
Rabbi Kelman was accompanied at the meeting by Rabbi Harold Gordon, executive vice-president of the New York Board of Rabbis, Rabbi Saul Teplitz of New York, a member of the Rabbinical Assembly executive committee, and Rabbi Sol Spiro of Montreal.
Rabbi Kelman said his delegation also asked whether there could be exchanges of books and rabbis between American and Soviet Jews and that the Soviet official’s unvarying reply was “if they want it, it can be arranged.” The four rabbis were part of a 15-member group which attended a conference of the World Council of Synagogues in London and then proceeded to the Soviet Union for a 10-day visit.
Rabbi Kelman said that a meeting of the executive committee of the World Council would be held this week here and that he expected that the matter of invitations would be considered and acted on at that meeting.
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