Resentment was felt today by the Jewish population in Palestine when the sentences given the seven Jewish settlers of Hulda were made public in the Hebrew press, which does not appear on Saturday and could not, therefore, carry the verdict which was issued by the military court late on Friday.
The seven settlers, all of whom were convicted on the charge of illegal possession of arms, were sentenced to terms varying from two to six years in prison. Jacob Galata and Moshe Hass, the two settlers who pleaded guilty at the opening of the trial, announced through their lawyer that they did not intend to take advantage of the offer made by the president of the court, that they would be given milder sentences if they agreed to disclose the source from which they secured the confiscated arms.. “As self-respecting men they would not betray their conscience for their freedom,” the attorney told the court before the sentences were issued. The two were sentenced to six and five years imprisonment, respectively.
Other sentences meted out by the court were: Israel Brinbaum, the chairman of the Hulda settlement, five-years imprisonment; Nathan Spiver, three years; Joseph Steinhaus, Abraham Cohen and Abraham Rottenberg, two years. The sentences are subject to approval by the General Officer in Command in Palestine.
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