Jewish workers throughout Palestine left their shops this evening between the hours of four and five P.M. and Jewish stores closed as the entire Jewish community mourned the death of Shmuel Wolynetz, who died in the Nablus hospital last night from injuries suffered during the police search for illegal arms in the colony of Ramath Hakovesh last Tuesday. Wolynetz was buried this morning at Ramath Hekovesh. The call for the work stoppage was issued by the Jewish National Council.
Meanwhile, unrest continued in Tel Aviv where 21 Jews and 11 British policemen were injured yesterday during demonstrations protesting the arrest and wounding of the Ramath Hekovesh settlers. Most of the injuries occurred during a clash between police and demonstrators who flung stones and flaming kerosene soaked rags through the windows of government offices. The interior of the offices was set ablaze but the fire was soon extinguished by the municipal fire brigade.
The British flag flying in front of the building was torn down by the demonstrators and replaced by a Zionist banner. A 15-year-old boy was struck in the chest by a bullet fired from a housetop, but most of the injuries were inflicted by police clubs, since the police were apparently under orders not to fire into the crowds. The police finally succeeded in throwing a cordon around the government offices, preventing further attacks.
COPIES OF GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPER DESTROYED BY DEMONSTRATORS
Attempts by Mayor Israel Rokach to quiet the crowds were unsuccessful. The mayor appealed to the Palestine Government to cease distribution in Tel Aviv of “Chadashot Hayom,” “News of the Day” an official Hebrew-language newspaper which the government is circulating in lieu of the Hebrew dailies which continue suspended – two of them by government ban and the others in sympathy with them-since its distribution provoked new outbreaks. Copies of “Chadashot Hayom” were burned in a huge bonfire by some of the demonstrators.
A large protest meeting was held yesterday at Ramath Hekovesh with representatives of most of the Jewish trade unions participating. The only speaker was David Ben Gurion, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency, who demanded that the government stop searching for arms in the Jewish settlements, since all such arms were kept only for defense purposes. He also demanded an objective inquiry into last Tuesday’s incident by a commission sent from London, the release of all those arrested during the raid, and lifting of the ban on the Hebrew press.
In Haifa, yesterday, 4,000 persons gathered in the amphitheater to hear an account of what occurred at Ramath Hekovesh. The meeting was addressed by leaders of the Histadruth and by residents of the settlement.
Wolynetz, the first fatality resulting from the raid, came to Palestine from Poland in 1936. He leaves a widow, who was seriously injured during the pre-war Arab riots, and a young daughter. He was 36 years old.
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