Joint Seeks Official Recognition from Soviet Moldavia, Azerbaijan

In a move reflecting the new strategies of Jewish organizations in dealing with a rapidly fragmenting Soviet Union, representatives of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee met last week with the leaders of Moldavia and Azerbaijan to seek official recognition for the humanitarian assistance agency.

In separate meetings, Presidents Mircea Snegur of Moldavia and Ayaz Mutalibov of Azerbaijan promised swift action on the Joint’s request, according to JDC spokesman Amir Shaviv.

The two leaders expressed desire for better relations with world Jewry and promised JDC President Sylvia Hassenfeld that they would respect Jewish freedom of worship and assembly in their republics.

Hassenfeld said she was “encouraged by our warm welcome.”

In Moldavia, Snegur personally accepted all the papers needed for the JDC’s accreditation. The meeting was covered by the local press and television in Kishinev, the Moldavian capital, which was the site of vicious pogroms in 1903 and 1905.

Today an estimated 80,000 Jews live in Moldavia, which is seeking independence from the Soviet Union and the establishment of ties with neighboring and ethnically related Romania.

In the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, Hassenfeld presented Mutalibov with a Russian-language edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica.

The president of the largely Moslem republic expressed his respect for the contributions of the Jews and the Joint to Azerbaijani life. About 35,000 Jews live in Azerbaijan, mostly in Baku.

The Joint has been working in Baku and Moldavia for the last two years, organizing cultural and religious events, including massive Passover seders, Bar Mitzvahs and the opening of Jewish libraries.

Accreditation will allow the organization, funded largely by the United Jewish Appeal, to operate officially and legally in such endeavors as renting offices and importing kosher foods.