The mystery of Soviet attitudes toward Israel deepened today with disclosure that the Russian Football Association had offered to send a soccer team to Israel less than a week after Soviet officials canceled a scheduled tour by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra in the Soviet Union.
In a message to the Israeli Football Association, the Russians offered to send the team for two games in Israel between February 18 and February 28. No reply has as yet been given to the Soviet offer, which came as a considerable surprise after the unilateral Soviet cancelation of the orchestra tour.
Some observers suggested that the answer to the puzzle might be that, while the Soviet authorities strongly oppose visits by Israelis to Russia, they either do not oppose or in fact encourage their artists and athletes to visit Israel.
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