Israel Receives Soviet Note on Kidnapped Diplomat; Rejects Allegations

The Israel Foreign Ministry announced today receipt of a Soviet note in reply to its protest against the kidnapping and mistreatment of Eliahu Chazan, an attache at the Israel Embassy in Moscow. However, it refused at this time to publish the contents of the note or to discuss them.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stated that “we have completed confidence in Chazan.” He made this statement in comment on Soviet press reports attacking Mr. Chazan for allegedly carrying on anti-Soviet activities and, by implication, of not giving his superiors an honest account of what had happened to him.

(Reports from Moscow declared that the Soviet note had stated that Mr. Chazan was held one hour, not 26 as Israel charged, and that he had not been mistreated but released as soon as he showed his diplomatic identity papers and signed a statement allegedly admitting his activities. The note reportedly called the Israeli statement of Mr. Chazan’s experiences a “fabrication” and charged that the Israeli had been apprehended handing over anti-Soviet literature to a Soviet Jew.)

Asked by a newspaperman whether It was “correct” that Mr. Chazan had signed a statement admitting alleged anti-Soviet propaganda activities, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said “it is entirely irrelevant.” The spokesman also indicated that Dr. Walter Eytan, director general of the Foreign Ministry, might have reported on the Soviet reply at today meeting of the Cabinet. During the week-end, the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee met on the Chazan affair, but its deliberations remain a closely guarded secret.