Concern has grown in Israeli sports circles that the Soviet Union may resort to the denial of entry visas or other administrative measures to prevent Israel from participating in the Olympic Games in Moscow next summer despite its promise that every nation will be welcome to compete. The possibility of such action by the Soviet authorities seemed likely after Alex Giladi, a senior Israeli television official, received word last night that his application for a visa to enter the USSR was rejected.
Giladi, who had covered the Olympic Games in Munich and Montreal for Israeli television, is slated to head the Israeli TV crew at the 1980 Games in the Soviet capital. He was scheduled to go to Moscow next Sunday along with 39 senior officials of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to cover the “Spartakiada, “a general rehearsal for the Olympic Games. Of all the applicants, he apparently was the only one denied a visa.
Doubts about Soviet intentions toward the Israeli Olympic team were increased by the discriminatory treatment given 40 Israeli political scientists who had asked to attend the International Congress of Political Science which opens in Moscow on Aug. 12.
Prot. Asher Arian of Tel Aviv University, head of the Israeli chapter of the Political Science Association, reported that only 30 of the 40 applicants have been notified that they will receive visas. The others have received no notification. Moreover, none of the applicants has yet been notified about accommodations and it appears that no reservations have been made for them.
Unless the full delegation receives visas and accommodations, Israel may have to cancel its participation in the forum. According to Arian, the American and French political science associations have promised that if all 40 Israelis are not allowed to attend, they would cancel their participation. It was pointed out, however, that a decision by Israel to boycott the congress would be collective. The academicians with visas could go to Moscow on an individual basis if they chose to but would not be part of an Israeli delegation.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
