The shooting outrage near Haifa has cast a gloom over Palestine Jewry. Excitement is running high. Over 10,000 people followed in the funeral procession to-day of the three Jewish dead. The coffins were carried through the Haifa Jewish suburb, Hadar Hacarmel, and were then taken to the Labour Settlement Yadjur, to which the victims belonged, and were buried there. Mr. David Ben-Gurion, the Palestine Labour leader, speaking at the graveside, said that detectives and trackers are scouring the countryside trying to hunt down the murderers.
Several Arabs belonging to the nearby. Arab village of Yadjur, and also a number of Druses have been arrested. The tracks seem to lead to the village of Shafaram.
Jacob Zamir, one of the two men who were killed, came to Palestine from Poland only last year. He was employed at the Athlit quarries, in connection with the Haifa Harbour construction works, and had been visiting some friends at Yadjur. The woman, Hinde Fischman, was also a native of Poland, and joined the Yadjur Labour Settlement only this week.
The four who were wounded are stated to be out of danger.
The ambuscade was well organised, a workman at the Nesher Cement Factory told the J.T.A. Representative in Haifa. The attackers fired, he said, from both sides of the road and continued to shoot after several of the victims had already been hit. He indignantly denied the suggestions made in some quarters that there had been a quarrel between the Jews and the Arabs which had led to the shooting. The outrage was altogether unprovoked, he said.
Colonel Kisch, member of the Jewish Agency Executive, has gone to Haifa. The Haifa Jewish Community has had an interview with the District Governor of the North, Mr. Colville, to demand that the authorities should take energetic action to round up the murderers. The attack was obviously carefully organised, they said, and if the murderers are not caught and brought to justice it may lead to a spread of terrorism throughout the country.
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