Soviets Angered by Jdl Actions; Warn Escapades by ‘zionist Thugs’ Must Be Ended

Soviet authorities, angered by the activities of the Jewish Defense League which has disrupted Soviet cultural presentations in various cities in the United States and has allegedly caused damage to some of its commercial business offices in New York, have charged that American authorities have been remiss in protecting Soviet diplomats and citizens. An article yesterday in the Soviet government newspaper Izvestia accused the JDL, which it termed “Zionist thugs,” with organizing a series of “provocations” against Soviet diplomats in Washington and New York and against Soviet artists and musical groups. The newspaper warned that the “gangster escapades of the Zionists and their supporters must finally be ended,” According to the article, the actions by JDL “arouse the righteous indignation of the Soviet people who demand that our citizens and official representatives in the United States be protected against unrestricted hooliganism.” The article also noted that American officials’ assurances that precaution would be taken to prevent these incidents “remain no more than empty promises.”