Worshippers flocked to the Walling Wall today but one of the access routes remained sealed off as a result of Saturday night’s grenade explosion which injured 13 Jews and three Arabs. The injured included two American students, Regina Fox, 26, of San Francisco and Judith Kasten, 18, of New York City, both enrolled at Tel Aviv University. Jack Greenblatt, 29, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. who arrived in Israel as an immigrant last August was still in the hospital yesterday. His condition was described as serious but not grave. Others hospitalized were Irina Vranova, 17, a recent immigrant from the Soviet Union and Rachel Goldberg, six, whose conditions were described as satisfactory. A narrow alley leading to the Wailing Wall was closed to the public immediately after the blast.
Police have detained 68 Arabs for questioning, most of them residents of the area. The incident did not deter worshippers and tourists who packed the plaza at the Wailing Wall last night to usher in the Simchat Torah festival. Police estimated the crowd at more than 10,000. Israel’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Dr. Zerach Warhaftig, blamed the grenade incident on last month’s Security Council resolution condemning Israeli activities in Jerusalem which, he claimed encouraged the terrorist attackers. Warhaftig said the incident proved that the struggle for Jerusalem was first and foremost a struggle for the Jewish right of access to the holy places which was denied during 19 years of Jordanian rule.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
