Israel’s Parliament supported today the action of the Government in the deportation of Dr. Robert A. Soblen, defeating three non-confidence motions by a vote of 53 to 28. The Herut party abstained.
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion defended the Government handling of the case of Dr. Soblen who fled to Israel to avoid serving a life sentence in the United States for espionage for Russia. The Prime Minister told the Knesset that the expulsion was carried out under laws involving illegal entry. He rejected opposition charges that the expulsion action was motivated by pressures of the United States Department of State.
The Prime Minister said the Government had been unaware of the fact that an American detective attended the deportation and escorted Dr. Soblen, who tried to commit suicide on the departing plane and was landed in Britain, where he is now in a hospital awaiting the outcome of a plea for a writ of habeas corpus.
Mr. Ben-Gurion reiterated that Israel cannot become a haven for criminals from abroad. He also disclosed that when the American Ambassador approached him on the case, he told the envoy that it was purely an internal Israeli affair.
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