Two New York Jewish youths were ordered expelled from Israel by the Interior Ministry today for disrespectful and indecent behavior toward the Christian community. The youths, Abraham Lenny Wacholder, 20, and Albert Joel Benjamin also received six-month jail sentences, with three-months suspended sentences, for stripping naked and using obscene language in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre last July.
The two, who came to Israel as tourists last June, will be ousted Oct. 10 after completing three month jail terms. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the government considered their conduct a serious breach of Israel’s policy of freedom of worship for all faiths.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.