Without the participation of Arab counsel and with a sullen, stubborn silence maintained by the accused, the trial of fifteen Arabs of Safed, charged with burning the home of Solomon Goldzweig on the day of the riots, and causing asphyxiation of his wife, was begun in the Criminal Court, presided over by Chief Justice Sir Michael MacDonnell. The Justice was unable to obtain replies to questions put to the accused, who include the two Raneim brothers who were condemned to death for the murder of Isaac Mamaan.
Solomon Goldzweig, 72 years old, spoke in Yiddish. He declined to reply in Arabic, “the language of the murderers who have been my neighbors. I had been their friend for many years. Now they have left me desolate and broken-hearted,” he declared. Goldzweig testified that he left his house when the riots began in order to speak to a neighbor about safety. He saw his house surrounded and part of the mob setting fire to rags around the building. When he could get into the building he found his wife dead. He recognized four of the accused among the incendiaries.
Another witness, Isaac Ber, saw the mob at the burning house. He recognized four of the accused. Several of the prisoners were identified by a British soldier.
The refusal to put up a defense with legal representation and the summoning of witnesses was viewed here as a tactical move of the Arab Executive in order to be able to appeal against the sentences.
An opinion was expressed by a leading attorney here to the representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that appeal against the sentences will be possible only on a point of law, which is not involved in the refusal to put up a defense. The accused were given ample time to prepare their defense, he stated.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
