Israeli Court Issues Habeas Corpus Writ Against Government in Peter Bergson Case

Acting on a plea for a writ of habeas corpus, the Tel Aviv district court today issued an order calling on Minister of Defense David Ben Gurion and other authorities of Israel to show cause why they should not release Peter Bergson, chairman of the Hebrew Committee of National Liberation, and Jacob Meridor, deputy commander of the Irgun Zvai Leumi.

Both men were arrested in connection with the attempted Irgun landing of a cargo of arms from the Vladimir Jabotinsky recently, and the authorities announced they were to be tried on charges of using arms against the Israeli Army and of inciting to desertion. The place where the men are being detained has not been revealed for “security reasons.”

The court rejected a further plea by Max Seligman, attorney for the arrested men, for an intermediate order permitting him to visit the prisoners on the grounds that this was beyond the court’s jurisdiction. Cited in the show cause order, in addition to Defense Minister Ben Gurion were the Ministers of Interior and Police, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army and the Israeli Attorney-General.

Irgun Zvai Leumi’s underground radio today broadcast a strong denial of a report that it has reached an agreement with the Provisional Government of Israel. Meanwhile, it was learned here that Premier David Ben Gurion refused a request by Minister of Interior Isaac Gruenbaum to confirm an agreement with the Irgun and to release Irgunists now detained by the government.

It is understood that Gruenbaum demanded that Ben Gurion appoint a seven-member committee to investigate the entire Irgun problem, reach an agreement with the organization and extend to the Irgunists certain privileges in the Israeli Army.

The Zionist Actions Committee will convene here July 18, it was announced today.

JEWISH AUTHORITIES PLAN TO BRING 12,000 CHILDREN TO ISRAEL THIS YEAR

Thirteen thousand refugee children are at present in Youth Aliyah institutions in Palestine, it was announced today by Moshe Kolodny, a member of the Jewish Agency executive and a leader in the Aliyah program. He said that the organization hoped to have at least 25,000 children in the country by the end of the year.

In the six weeks prior to the proclamation of Jewish statehood, 9,000 children arrived in Palestine under Youth Aliyah auspices, Kalodny disclosed, of whom 80 percent came from the Cyprus detention camps and the remainder from transit camps in France. Youth Aliyah’s budget for this year was announced as $10,000,000. Kolodny revealed that new children’s centers will be opened in September some 20 miles southeast of Haifa.