What is probably the biggest breakthrough in Soviet-Israeli relations in more than 20 years will occur in the sports arena.
On January 12, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel’s champion basketball team, will be in Moscow to play the CSKA, the championship Red Army sports club.
Alexander Portnov, the senior Soviet official in charge of overseas tournaments, on Friday informed the European basketball authorities meeting in Munich that his government no longer objects to Israelis and Soviets playing against each other, in either country.
Since the Soviets broke diplomatic relations with Israel in 1967, their respective teams have met, but always in neutral countries.
The Soviet team will go to Tel Aviv for a March 9 rematch in the Yad Eliahu stadium.
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