Potential Emigrants Not Affected by New Measures in USSR Olympic Cities

“There is widespread confusion in the U.S. concerning reports of new regulations posted at a Moscow emigration office,” according to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ). Jerry Goodman, NCSJ executive director, said eyewitnesses reported seeing an announcement. saying that “persons invited from abroad are forbidden to stay in Moscow, its suburbs, Minsk, Leningrad, Kiev and Tallin from June 19 to September 3.”

Because the wording of the handwritten notice dated Feb. 27 was unclear, the NCSJ official noted it was open to varied interpretations. Furthermore, it was limited only to Moscow’s district emigration office, he said.

According to Goodman.” Jewish activists to Moscow were confused by reports of the new announcement. They assumed that it seemed to apply both to foreigners who might be invited to visit by Soviet citizens, and to Soviet citizens who have received invitations to emigrate from relatives abroad.”

In an effort to clarify this situation NCSJ’s Washington office contacted the State Department, and no verification of a supposed new policy was obtained. The NCSJ said it did learn, from a reliable source in Moscow, that the notice appears not to affect Jewish emigration. In fact, said the source, the provisions only refer to persons from abroad who may be invited for personal visits during the confusion of the Olympic Games. He urged caution in over-zealous reactions to initial reports of Olympic related pressure on Jews or others.

The NCSJ recalled the unfounded rumors in the past concerning a halt in emigration in 1979 — a year which saw a record number of Jews leaving the Soviet Union. “In the past, troublesome rumors have often been leaked by the KGB, to divide and confuse people,” Goodman noted.