Stringent Soviet security measures have prevented Soviet Jews from contacting President Nixon and have made it virtually impossible for American newsmen to meet or telephone Soviet Jews. As a result, US reporters and photographers covering the summit conference have given up hope of obtaining interviews with Jewish activists. American TV crews filmed services at Moscow’s Choral Synagogue on Saturday. No more than 300 worshippers were present although Jewish sources had told newsmen previously that about 1000 usually attend. Reporters believe that word had been passed that Jews appearing on TV films at this time could be harmful to Jews.
An example of the efforts made by American correspondents to contact Jews and the fruitless results was the case of one reporter who tried 70 times to reach seven people by phone without obtaining a single response. In Leningrad yesterday, three US newsmen managed to contact a local Jew who promised to meet them in front of the New National Hotel but who never showed up. The vicinity of the hotel for blocks around had been sealed off by Soviet security police.
Security has been so tight that even members of President Nixon’s official party have been prevented on many occasions from crossing police lines. Some American officials carry walkie-talkie radios to contact their colleagues behind the lines to come out and confirm their identity. Observers have remarked that if such tough restrictions exist for American officials and newsmen, they are probably even more severe for Jews. Many newsmen here believe that most Moscow Jews were either in hiding or in jail during Nixon’s stay in the capital.
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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.
