Twenty-four settlers, the entire male population of the Poale Mizrachi colony of Birya, were today sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to four years by a British military court at Safed which convicted them of illegal possession of arms.
The prisoners, who were arrested Feb. 28 following a raid on Birya after an alleged attack upon an Arab Legion camp near the settlement, pleaded guilty yesterday afternoon. Two youths, aged 16 and 17, received one-year terms, and two others, 17 and 18 years old, respectively, were sentenced to serve two years, while the remaining 20 defendants received four-year sentences. Early this month all 24 went on a four day hunger strike in protest against police brutality.
During the trial the prosecutor withdrew charges of attacking police forces and conducting military drill. Rabbi Meir Berlin, leader of the World Mizrachi movement, appearing as a defense witness, explained the struggle of the settlers to establish their homes at Birya. He emphasized the constant threat to their lives, declaring that Jewish casualties, particularly among the religious settlements in the Safad area, were very heavy and said that it was necessary to carry arms as a protective measure.
Other defense witnesses included two settlers from the nearby colony of Ein Zeitim, who told the court that they were forced to abandon their homes after repeated attacks upon them and the Government’s failure to provide protection, although it refused to permit them to post armed guards.
Before sentence was passed, one of the defendants made a statement on behalf of all 24. “When we ascended the Birya heights,” he said, “we knew that we were coming to a dangerous spot–the neighboring settlement of Ein Zeitim was twice destroyed by Arab bands and the settlers were slaughtered, two were burned alive. We decided to protect our own and our children’s lives. We cannot give up the right of self-defense, even if the law prohibits it.”
After the sentences were imposed the defendants sang Hattikvah and danced the Horah.
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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.
