Soviet Stance on Jewish Exit to Israel Linked to 1955 Arms Deal with Egypt

The Soviet strictures against Jewish immigration to Israel are being used as a political weapon and are closely tied to the first Egyptian-Soviet arms deal in 1955, which at that time was designated as an Egyptian-Czech deal, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today from a trustworthy source. The source said that in 1955 Egypt was reluctant to sign an arms agreement with the Soviet Union because Cairo was then in a position to get arms from the West. When the situation became critical, the Soviet ambassador to Cairo told President Nasser that unless he went through with the arms deal, the Soviet government would permit Jewish immigration, meaning that within a few years a million Soviet Jews would have moved to Israel. Nasser signed, according to the source.

That development, which is not widely known is Israel, explains why demonstrations against and harassment of Soviet diplomats in the West have only a marginal effect on the Kremlin’s Jewish-emigration policy, it was stated. But it also explains the optimism felt widely in Israel that the gates of the Soviet Union will swing open for the Jews when a settlement is reached in the Middle East and when Israel, perhaps through a change in political circumstances, is in a position to offer the Soviets suitable concessions, according to the informant.