Dr. Israel Kastner, storm center of Israel’s most sensational trial last year, was today acquitted by a magistrate here on one charges of perjury in connection with his trial. The charge involved his relationships with S.S. General Kurt Becher, who was acquitted by a war crimes tribunal. It had been charged that Dr. Kastner personally intervened on Becher’s behalf and secured his acquittal. Dr. Kastner denied this and was charged with perjury as a result of his denial.
The Becher charge was one of a series made by Malkiel Gruenwald against Kastner. The main accusation by Gruenwald was that Dr. Kastner had saved an “elite” of Hungarian Jewry including his own family at the expense of lulling Hungarian Jews into a false sense of security and thus acting as an accessory in their extermination. As a result of these charges Gruenwald himself went on trial–and was cleared Israel’s Attorney General, who had brought the original action against Gruenwald, then Lodged an appeal. That appeal is still pending.
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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.
