Two of six men who appeared for hearings in a magistrate’s court here today on charges of having set fire to two synagogues told police interrogators that Colin Jordan, leader of the National Socialist movement, thought it was “a good idea” to burn down a synagogue, according to police testimony.
The two are Paul Williams Dukes and Graham Chant. With four others, they are accused of arson in the fires set last July in a synagogue at Clapton, in North London, and in another Jewish house of worship in the suburb of Ilford.
Police witnesses testified that, in a statement made by Dukes, he had said: “I joined the National Socialist movement in April, 1965. Colin Jordan was at one of the meetings, and he said it would be a good idea to burn Jewish synagogues but could not give official backing to such a scheme.” Chant was quoted as telling the police that Jordan said such acts were up to the individuals but he “did not wish to know anything about it if they got caught.” He allegedly described to the police the details about how he had started one of the fires. The four remaining defendants were held for hearings December 1.
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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.
