The period for obtaining passports to reside in Moscow, which was to have terminated on April 15th, has been extended by a decree issued by the Council of People’s Commissaries till June 15th, and the registration of the passports has been extended till July 15th.
This considerably eases the position of those who will be compelled to leave Moscow because they will be able to postpone their departure till the summer, instead of having to travel in the cold of the winter or the early spring.
Many citizens who have reason to believe that they will be refused passports are already voluntarily leaving those cities, in which the passport system is to be enforced. The Moscow railway stations are full these days with such travellers.
Clergy of all faiths, including Rabbis, as already reported, though disfranchised, will be allowed to remain at their posts in the cities, if they hold positions with registered congregations. But the number of official Rabbis in the Soviet Union now is very small. In Moscow, for instance, where there are a large number of former Rabbis from the small towns, and some unofficial Rabbis, there is only one recognized Rabbi, Rabbi Clemens, who is officially recognized as the Rabbi of the Moscow Religious Community, or more correctly, of the Moscow synagogues, since there is no Jewish religious community as such existing in Moscow.
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