Three young adults and one minor were convicted of arson today after confessing in a Jerusalem district court that they had set fire to two Christian religious institutions here on the night of Feb. ll. They are Feige Teomim, a 19-year-old student originally from New York; Pefi Traub, 19, who is of Chilean nationality; and Shmuel Gedz, 18, of Ashdod. The name of the minor, a male, was not disclosed.
A fourth suspect, Shimon Zadik, was severely burned and is still hospitalized. Two other persons, one of them aged 42, are awaiting trial in connection with suspected arson at another Christian institution the same night. According to today’s confessions, the two women set fire to the Baptist Center in downtown Jerusalem while the two men and a third person not yet indicted put torch to the Swedish Theological Institution. The defendants claimed that the institutions. were centers for missionary activities.
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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.