Report Signs of Crackdown by Soviet Authorities Aimed at Isolating Jewish Community

Jewish sources in the Soviet Union reported today growing signs of a concerted crackdown by the Soviet authorities aimed at isolating the Soviet Jewish community from the outside world. The campaign of harassment has taken a new turn with the announcement by Intourist, the official Soviet travel organization, that “Tourist, Zionists” will be regarded as persons “interfering in Soviet internal affairs.”

The Intourist announcement followed an article in the Soviet weekly “Nedelya” which warned that the Soviets would deal firmly with American Jews who come to the USSR to meet local Jewish activists and distribute “Zionist literature.” The magazine wrote: “Zionist emissaries are trying to penetrate the Soviet Union like cockroaches, through all the holes. They use international tourism for these purposes. Tourists-Zionists appear in different dress, But their aim is the same–to fan nationalist and emigration fever.”