The Soviet press has again accused officials of Israel’s Moscow Embassy of distributing what it called “propaganda” in a synagogue in the USSR, it was reported here today from the Soviet capital. A newspaper, Kommunist Tajikistana, published in Dushanbe, said that Yehuda Katz and Meir Biran, third secretaries in the Israel Embassy, had tried “to use sweet words about the paradise of life in Israel” during an “uninvited” visit to a synagogue in that town. The paper said they also left behind a packet of prayer books and religious articles, which “extremely indignant” local Jews then returned to the Israel Embassy. Both Israeli officials had been attacked before by the Soviet press.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.