Members of the Israeli delegation to the Moscow Economic Conference said today that they saw Jews in the Moscow synagogue only during Passover and that then, as well as at other times, the local Jews seemed afraid to approach the Israelis. The delegation returned yesterday from the Soviet Union.
One member of the delegation told of seeing his brother-in-law in the synagogue, but said that the latter was afraid to speak to him because of the “translators” who accompanied the delegates. The delegates also reported that there was no Yiddish newspaper in Moscow, but that a small number of Yiddish books is available.
The delegates said that there appeared to be a possibility for increasing Israeli citrus experts to the U.S.S.R. One delegate stated that oranges sold for four to five rubles each which, he said, is a very high price.
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