Monios Vagas, leader of the Puerto Rican pilgrim group caught in the Lydda massacre May 30, said today upon leaving Israel that his countrymen were not deterred from registering for future trips to Israel. Vagas made the statement as he and the last of his group were about to leave Israel aboard an Air France plane on their way home. Some of the pilgrims were still in bandages but the others looked suntanned and healthy.
Vagas, who has been looking after the injured Puerto Rican visitors since they were hit by machine gun fire and grenade explosions two months ago, said upon departure that he would come back next year with “hundreds of pilgrims.” He said that the incident caused an astonishing response in Puerto Rico and that many Puerto Ricans were willing to visit Israel and its holy places despite the mishap.
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.
