Evidence of a conspiracy to set up a League of Christian Merchants aimed against Jewish business men was given at the hearing of Jean Tissot, Ottawa detective who is accused of criminally libeling A. J. Freiman, president of the Canadian Zionist Organization and owner of a local department store.
William Graham and Harold G. Munro, department store officials who appeared as prosecution witnesses, testified that Tissot had approached them with a demand for financial assistance in his campaign against Jewish merchants.
This campaign, the witnesses declared, particularly harmed Freiman’s business because he is one of the leading Jewish merchants of this city.
The two witnesses explained that their reasons for not joining the campaign was that it was against Christian ethics.
At the opening of yesterday’s session of the trial, Magistrate Strike barred Saluste Lavery, Montreal lawyer known for his anti-Semitism, as Tissot’s counsel on the ground that he came from the province of Quebec and therefore could not practice in Ontario.
Lavery immediately countered with the threat that Quebec would not admit Ontario lawyers. Magistrate Strike ignored him.
The judge is expected to decide next Wednesday whether Tissot shall be held for triol.
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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.
