Two Israeli sports journalists who were supposed to accompany the Israeli contingent to Moscow for the academic sports meeting were not allowed to board the Aeroflot plane. The Israeli sports contingent, members of the Academic Sports Association, left yesterday for Moscow via Switzerland. Seven Israeli television reporters and newsmen were originally scheduled to accompany the contingent which will compete with students from all over the world.
When the contingent, along with the journalists, reached the Aeroflot checking counter at Zurich’s Kloten Airport a Soviet official–later identified as a Consul–asked for all passports in order to check the visas. The Soviet official returned all the visas except those belonging to the journalists. He explained that their visas were issued “by mistake,” and “mistakes may happen.”
A protest was lodged with the organizers of the games and with the International Academic Sports Federations.
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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.
