Twenty of the 29 Jews who escaped from the Acre prison on Sunday were members of the Irgun and 16 were serving sentences of 15 years for carrying and discharging firearms imposed in April, following attacks on rail ways, Lord Hall, First Lord of the Admiralty, told the House of Lords today. Hall, who is the government spokesman in the upper house on colonial matters, said that sight of the other nine escapees were members of the Stern Group.
In Commons today, Colonial Minister Arthur Creech-Jones, replying to a questioner, said that collective punishment was still being considered as a means of curting terrorism in Palestine. He reiterated that the military and civil authorities have a free hand in putting down terrorism. Several Jewish MP’s, including ?muel Silverman, Barnett Janner and Maurice Edelman, protested any moves to make the entire population of the country responsible for the activities of the extremists.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.