The shooting affair which took place in the courtyard of the synagogue in the small town of Lukov, on Saturday, February 28th., a year ago, has come up before the Appeal Court, which has increased the sentence of one of the accused, Jacob Grinblatt, from three months to one year, and has sentenced the other accused, Moses Weintraub, who had previously been acquitted, also to one year’s imprisonment.
The trouble occurred in connection with a dispute in the town over the appointment of a new Rabbi. One of the candidates, Rabbi Silberberg, accompanied by some of his supporters, went to the synagogue courtyard to preach to the congregation. A large crowd of his opponents had assembled there, however, and refused to allow him to speak. The Rabbi thereupon walked away, but the crowd set upon two of his chief supporters, Moses Weintraub and Jacob Grinblatt, and Grinblatt, finding himself hard-pressed, pulled out a revolver and shot, hitting a young man of 20 named Gershon Shlisak, who was detained in hospital for several weeks.
The first trial was held before the District Court at Siedlice. Grinblatt’s Counsel argued that Grinblatt had been in danger of his life and had been compelled to use the revolver in self-defence, but the Appeal Court refused to accept the plea.
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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.
