The knesset, Israel’s Parliament, passed today the first of three readings on a Government bill to amend the Advocates Ordinance which would permit a non-Israeli lawyer to defend Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi who directed the mass-killing of 6, 000, 000 Jews in Europe.
The bill, which does not mention the Nazi war criminal, was passed without discussion except for remarks by a Communist Deputy who scathingly attacked the proposal. The other parties, including the opposition, had agreed to refrain from debate.
Eichmann, who will go on trial here next spring, has chosen Cologne attorney Robert Servatius to defend him. The Israel Government announced yesterday that Dr. Servatius would be acceptable as defense counsel in view of the fact that an investigation of his wartime record had established that he never was a member of the Nazi party.
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