A Coast Guard vessel today captured, north of Jaffa, the 537-ton steamship Leisel, with 906 Jewish refugees aboard, and brought it into Haifa harbor. The Leisel flew the Panama flag but is of Rumanian origin. Government inspectors reported that the ship was in clean and orderly condition.
The passengers, including 300 women and 60 children, and the crew were imprisoned aboard the ship. The captain stated to the authorities that the refugees had been brought to a Rumanian port aboard a German and a Yugoslavian vessel, from which they were transferred to the Liesel. The Government announced in a communique that the passeengers came from Germany, former Czechoslovakia, Poland and Rumania.
It was ascertained that Arab fishermen are now informing the police about suspicious vessels sighted off the coast.
Meanwhile, 424 Jewish refugees from Danzing who had been wandering on the high seas since March and had found shelter in the island of Crete appealed to Jewish organizations in Tel Aviv for food and clothing.
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