The ouster from Russia of two American correspondents within a month was linked today to Soviet anger over recent attacks on Soviet premises in New York by members of the Jewish Defense League and the alleged failure to punish the culprits. According to observers here, the connection became evident when an article in the Communist Party newspaper Pravda described the attacks and anti-Soviet demonstrations in New York as links in a “single chain” in an article last Saturday. Yesterday, Soviet authorities “suggested” that Columbia Broadcasting System correspondent William Cole leave the Soviet Union “because he was engaged in activities incompatible with the status of a foreign journalist.” Time magazine correspondent Stanley Cloud was ousted on June 12 when authorities refused to renew his 90-day visa. The Pravda article linked the JDL assault last week on the New York office of Amtorg, the Soviet commercial organization in the U.S. with a Time cover story on May 4 on Communist Party leader Leonid Brezhnev and the Russian military machine. According to Pravda, the story was “an invitation to anti-Soviet violence” and led to “Zionist” demonstrations against Soviet entitles. Observers here believe the Kremlin is using the correspondents to re-enforce their demands for an end to assaults on Soviet premises and more vigorous prosecution of the demonstrators.
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