A verdict in the arms trial which has been proceeding in a military court here for the past six weeks is expected tomorrow, following completion of summations by both the defense and prosecution.
Concluding his case on Friday, Major Baxter, the prosecutor, asked the court to find the two defendants, Leib Sirkin and Abraham Rachlin, guilty of purchasing 300 rifles and 105,000 rounds of ammunition stolen from British arms stores by two soldiers who have already been convicted of the theft. He reiterated the charge that there exists in Palestine “a sinister organization with agents to do its work in all branches of the armed forces, which possesses enormous sums of money and which has as its chief aims the obtaining of unlimited quantities of arms and ammunition.” Baxter asserted that “this organization’s aims are against the policy of the Allies and it would be worthwhile looking into who are its members and where it obtains its funds.”
The prosecutor stated that Rachlin and Sirkin were members of this organization and that the testimony of the two soldiers linking them with the gun running had not been discredited by the defense. Referring to the fact that the defense had objected to his introducing the names of several Jewish organizations, Baxter` said: “If the cap fits any persons, that’s not my fault.” He vehemently denied charges by defense attorneys that the Palestine police were prejudiced against the defendants and had framed the case.
Reviewing the testimony of Golda Meirson, Histadruth leader, concerning the Haganah and Machneh, Jewish self-defense organizations, Baxter said that her “enthusiastic speech” had removed the camouflage from these groups, which were presumably ready to assist the Palestine Government, and had shown them to be organizations that have a “Nazi-like power” to compel their members to perform allotted tasks and which train Jewish youths in the use of arms. Sirkin, he added, fitted the description of “those defenders of the country mentioned by Miss Meirson.”
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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.
