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More than anything else, they say, these reports are clear reflections of the unprecedented ferment at every level of Soviet society — an environment replete with opportunities for Soviet Jews, but also with very real dangers. On one level, the uncon- trolled explosion of change has given new life to forces that have traditionally nourished Soviet anti- Semitism. In some cases, these social and political upheavals have put Jews in a squeeze between other groups seeking liberation from the Soviet system and the authorities in Moscow. And the sense of instabili- ty, of a society turned upside down, may be contributing to a feeling of impermanence that makes Soviet Jews and their American supporters think long and hard about the Soviet Union's old habit of reacting to rapid - social change by scapegoating the nation's Jews. Visitors to the Soviet Union bring back dramatically con- tradictory pictures. "We traveled all over the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Jews we met told us that their lives were freer of anti- Semitism and official repres- sion than ever before," said one Jewish activist who recently returned from a trip to the Soviet Union. "These people spoke freely to us about their lives; we had no sense of intimidation. And we talked to many Soviet citizens about Pamyat, both Jews and non-Jews; what they told us generally was that they view- ed it as a Loony Tunes kind of extremist group. In other words, nobody seems to take it very seriously." Another seasoned Soviet Jewry activist viewed things through a different lens dur- ing a recent trip to the Soviet Union. "Both in Leningrad and Moscow we heard that Pamyat's activities are in- creasing, that anti-Semitic literature is being sold by Pamyat activists in Moscow," said Dan Mariaschin, director of public affairs for B'nai B'rith International. Mariaschin recently par- ticipated in the opening of B'nai B'rith's fourth Soviet unit. "They've even set up tables in Pushkin Square?' Mariaschin told of a letter from 16 members of the Jewish community in the Soviet Union, complaining about "numerous acts of van- Visitors to the Soviet Union bring back dramatically contradictory pictures. dalism and desecration in Jewish cemeteries," and talk- ing about incidents in which Jews have been beaten up in Moscow and Leningrad. Signers of the letter have re- quested a special commission of the Supreme Soviet to in- vestigate the rise in anti-Semitism. The substance of Mariaschin's account is substantiated by mainline Soviet Jewry groups like the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, which recently blasted the resurgence of the Anti-Zionist Committee, which Soviet authorities had promised to dismantle. But putting these widely varying accounts into perspective is difficult. Some of the current wave of concern appears tied to real incidents of anti-Semitism, but even more seems related to an in- crease in rhetoric among groups vying for the allegiance of the Soviet people. And much of the current anxiety is simply a product of the wild centrifugal forces generated by a society that seems on the verge of spinn- ing out of control. "People are worried it could turn into a civil war," said Warren Eisenberg, chief of B'nai B'rith's International Council. Eisenberg also returned recently from travels in the Soviet Union. "Pamyat has been very noisy lately; they're claiming more than six million members. But the question of anti- Continued on Page 18