Israel will permit the importation of Soviet publications only on the basis of reciprocity, a spokesman for the Ministry of Trade declared today, announcing Israel’s decision to bar Soviet books and magazines.
He revealed that during recent, prolonged negotiations between Israel and the USSR, the Russians asserted that there were neither readers nor interest in the Soviet Union for Israel books and magazines.
Originally, the Israel Government approved the importation of a quantity of Soviet books, but at that time asserted its adherence, in this deal as in all others, of the principle of reciprocity. When the new Soviet proposal was made, without Moscow agreement to the importation of Israeli literature to the USSR, the Ministry of Trade withheld approval.
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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.