The farmers in the district of Bethal are greatly agitated over the sentence imposed by Judge Saul Solomon upon the Jewish farmer, Jack Nafte, for flogging a native to death.
A mass meeting, largely attended, selected a deputation of ten to circularize a petition for the remission of the sentence of ten lashes which, in addition to ten years’ imprisonment, was imposed by the judge. The deputation consists of five Jewish and five Dutch farmers. The mass meeting was opposed to the idea of giving the move a semblance of political partisanship.
A meeting of Jewish farmers in the district of Coligny passed a resolution protesting against the sentence. The meeting despatched a cable to Minister of Justice Tielman Roos, who is now on a visit to Germany, enlisting his intervention. The Jewish community of Bethal has called a meeting to consider the case.
The South African Board of Jewish Deputies, the representative Jewish body, has decided against intervention in the case of Jack Nafte.
Because of the proximity of the general elections, there exists a danger that the matter may be turned into a political issue-involving the black and white problem in the country. Capital may also be made by some parties of the Jewish element of the matter, it was pointed out.
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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.
