Twenty of the most active would-be emigrants to Israel in Moscow have been warned by the KGB that they will be liable to prosecution on charges of parasitism unless they find jobs within a month. Among them are llya Essas; Victor Barilovsky. Vladimir Prestin, Zahar Tesker, and Pavel Abramovich.
The warnings have been interpreted here as a sign that the KGB is cracking down on the leading activists in the Soviet capital. These are all people who lost their jobs after unsuccessfully applying to emigrate to Israel. This is the first time they have been threatened with prosecution over their work situation. “Parasitism” can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.
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.
