A newly formed “Committee Against the Extradition of William Nakash” claimed at a press conference here Sunday that the fugitive from French Justice had been a member of an organization of Jewish militants fighting a wave of anti-Semitism in France.
Nakash, 25, was convicted and sentenced in absentia for the 1983 murder of an Algerian Arab in the French city of Besancon, southeast of Paris. According to his cousin, Albert Nakash, who appeared at the press conference, the killing was not a criminal act but the act of a “militant Jew” fighting Arab terrorism and anti-Semitism.
He said William Nakash belonged to a group of Jewish militants in France Known as Tel Hai and that an even more militant Jewish group, Pessah, was active there. Neither the Committee nor Albert Nakash offered any proof of their claims. They cited Palestine Liberation Organization statements of sympathy for the murdered Algerian.
Nakash has drawn support here from Orthodox and rightwing nationalist circles who oppose extradition. They maintain that if he is returned to France to serve the life sentence imposed on him, his life would be endangered by Arab prisoners. Justice Minister Avraham Sharir ruled last week against extradition and ordered Nakash released from custody. The ruling has been appealed to the Supreme Court, which is expected to render a decision Monday.
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