A hearing began today in the House of Lords on the appeal by Shalom Shtarkes against an extradition request by Israel, Israel charges Shtarkes, the 22-year-old religious school teacher, with complicity in the kidnaping and hiding of his nephew, Yoselle Schumacher.
The proceedings of the first session of the hearing, revolving largely around the international status of Jerusalem and its relation to the Israel-British extradition pact, indicated the hearing would last for several days and perhaps into next week.
John Foster, the teacher’s attorney, seemed to attach great significance to the legalistic issues of Jerusalem’s status as one of his principal hopes for his client. He also stressed that the action of the House of Lords in agreeing to hear the appeal implied that there was an element of doubt in Israel’s case against Shtarkes, or at least that a different position might be possible than the one taken by the magistrate and the appeals court, which turned down the teacher’s appeal.
The boy was found in a Brooklyn rabbi’s home last July 1, and reunited with his family after having been missing since 1959. He had been abducted by Orthodox elements who feared his parents would not give him a sufficiently Orthodox education.
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