Rabbi Meir Kahane and 47 other demonstrators were arrested last night in a clash with police outside the Soviet UN Mission in which six persons, including two policemen, were slightly injured. Two of the demonstrators were held on felonious assault charges but the rest, including Kahane, were released after being given summonses for disorderly conduct.
The clash occurred when scores of demonstrators who marched from a Jewish Defense League rally at the Diplomat Hotel in the Times Square area to the Soviet Mission on Upper East Side blocked traffic near the Mission building. Some tried to crash police barriers. A JDL spokesman told reporters the demonstration was to protest the treatment of Jews in the USSR. After the arrests several dozen demonstrators continued to march peacefully in the area without further incidents.
Meanwhile the FBI is investigating the firing of two 22 cal. bullets into the Soviet Mission building from an adjacent construction site before dawn yesterday. No one was injured and the damage was slight. The Soviet Mission lodged a formal protest and received expressions of outrage and regret from Mayor Abraham D. Beame.
A JDL spokesman claimed no knowledge of the shooting but said the organization applauded such action. An anonymous male caller told United Press International yesterday that the shots were fired because of “repression of Jews in the Soviet Union.” The caller added, “Never again” and “let my people go,” slogans used by the JDL.
UN OFFICE DEFACED
(In Washington, the office of the United Nations was defaced yesterday. A hand-painted sign on the outside of the building stated: “There is no land of Oz and there is no Palestine.” An anonymous caller telephoned the AP here and said this was done in protest against the UN policies “which are planned to destroy Israel and murder its population. Never again.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
