Israel Minister Reports on ‘ajami Case’; Says Press Distorted the Facts

Replying to questions in the Knesset (Parliament) today, Minister of Social Welfare Joseph Burg stated that the public, both here and abroad, has been misled by “distorted facts” regarding the case of the unmarried couple, Yaffa Ajami, who is Jewish, and Abdul Rahim Majdaleh, a Moslem.

Mr. Burg said that Miss Ajami had been under probation after being convicted for theft. It was at the couple’s request, he said, that a probation officer helped get their newly-born infant placed in an institution. When the father sought to remove the child, the Ministry’s social worker, acting in the child’s interest, requested the Juvenile Court to order that a social worker be assigned to look after the child’s interests.

However, continued the Minister, the court ruled that the father “might use the child for selfish interests” and that “the mother could not be relied upon to protect it, as she was under Majdaleh’s influence.” The court then ordered that the infant remain at the institution.

Mr. Burg said that there were “tense” relations between the couple and their families, leading at one time to violence and police intervention. When Miss Ajami removed the child from the institution, the matter was submitted to the police authorities, and the girl was charged with abduction. On an appeal to the Juvenile Court, the child was returned to its parents, under supervision, after Miss Ajami’s home was registered in her name.

The Minister deplored the “distortions” which, he said, led the foreign press to treat the story as “a Romeo and Juliet tragedy.” He also censured the Jerusalem Post for declining to publish the full text of the Ministry’s account, while printing letters from readers as well as an editorial based on incorrect information.