Local authorities throughout the Soviet Union have ordered Jews to refuse to accept parcels containing matzoth sent by relatives abroad, it became known here today from reports received from the USSR.
These steps are being taken in spite of the fact that an announcement by a Soviet official in the Washington Embassy stated a month ago that matzoh shipments addressed to individual recipients in the USSR would be permitted. The Soviet official went so far as to list five firms in the United States specifically licensed by the Soviet authorities to accept such shipments.
An article in an issue of Pravda Vostoka, of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, received here today confirms the fact that pressures are being applied against local Jews in regard to matzoh acceptance. The article, in the issue of March 17, stated: “Receipt of parcels of matzoh constitutes ideological sabotage against the Russian people.” Pravda Vostoka, which is the organ of the local Communist Party in Uzbekistan, reports that “protest meetings” against the import of matzoth were being organized “all over the country.” It was emphasized here that no “protest meetings” can be held anywhere in the Soviet Union without official Government permission and perhaps encouragement.
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