The pleasure of smoking a cigarette cost one Hebron resident six months in jail. Issa Mohammad Abu Zahara was sentenced by a Hebron court today for desecrating the fast of Ramadan in public. The strict religious rules marking the fast period forbids smoking during the month-long Moslem holiday from sun rise to sun set. Angry Hebron residents nabbed the cigarette smoker, rushed him to the police who took him to court where he was put on trial. The six-month term was the severest penalty for desecrating the Ramadan fast since 1967.
The courts in the administered territories follow the law which was in effect before Israel’s occupation of the territories in 1967, in today’s case it was Jordanian law. The sentence reflects the spread of Moslem religious beliefs and practices in the West Bank, as well as throughout the entire Middle East.
By Gil Sedan
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.
