Four members of the Jewish Defense League were arrested this morning in connection with alleged arson at a missionary center on the Mount of Olives. Police spokesman Avraham Turjeman told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that a group of 5-7 persons entered the center as visitors and used a kerosine stove inside to burn its contents, mainly copies of the New Testament. He said that Rabbi Meir Kahane, leader of the JDL, was under investigation for a possible role in the incident.
Rabbi Kahane, former Irgun leader Amichai Paglin and two other JDL members, Joseph Schneider and Abraham Hershkowitz, were indicted yesterday in a Tel Aviv district court on charges of attempting to smuggle arms out of Israel. No date has been fixed for their trial.
It was learned that the case would be heard by District Judge Chaim Dvorin. The State is expected to produce 38 witnesses on behalf of the prosecution. One of them, JDL member Willy Hochhauser, was arrested at the time of the smuggling attempt and has agreed to testify for the State.
According to the charge sheet, an iron crate containing arms was about to be smuggled to the U.S. when it was seized by Israeli authorities at Lod Airport last year. The arms were said to have been intended for a private war by the JDL against Arab terrorists overseas. They included two Karl Gustav submachine guns, three unarmed Mills grenades with separate detonators, two Italian Bareta pistols and a quantity of ammunition.
According to the charges, the crate was built by Paglin for the JDL at his iron foundry. It was learned today that the decision to bring Rabbi Kahane to trial on the smuggling charges was made in consultations at a top ministerial level.
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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.
