Clashes Between Moslems and Jews in Algiers Reported; Jews Flee Homes

Jews and Moslems have engaged during the last two days in severe fighting in the Casbah at Algiers, according to reports reaching here today despite the severe censorship imposed on Algerian dispatches.

Unconfirmed reports state that Moslem demonstrators clashed with Jews in the Casbah yesterday, and again today, sacking a number of Jewish homes and shops. The Casbah is inhabited both by Moslems and by large numbers of Jews.

The flag of the National Liberation Front, leading rebel organization, was raised over the ancient synagogue in the Casbah. A leader of the rebel demonstrators is reported to have charged that Jews fired on the rebels from the balconies and windows of their homes. These allegations are called by the Jewish leaders in Algiers “completely unfounded.”

The fighting in Algiers the last two days came on the heels of other Moslem attacks against Jews in various towns in Algeria. In the capital, Algiers, many Jews are reported to have fled their homes and shops, abandoning all their belongings, and taking shelter in the center of the city where they sought the protection of French Government security forces.

At Constantine, yesterday, Arab rebels exploded a mine in the vicinity of the local synagogue. There were a number of casualties but the censorship has forbidden transmission of dispatches giving details as to the number of dead or killed and as to their identity.

In Oran, Moslem demonstrators desecrated the Jewish cemetery, overturning tombstones and inscribing anti-Jewish slogans on the walls surrounding the burial grounds.

One Algerian terrorist, who was convicted of tossing a hand grenade into a Jewish shop at Blida, was sentenced to death by a military tribunal at Algiers today. The man had thrown the grenade into the shop owned by M. Ben-Hamou at Blida. The military court gave the terrorist a speedy trial, obviously in an effort to help deter further anti-Jewish attacks.