Sheikh Sleiman Taji Farouki, editor of the extremist Arab newspaper, Al Jamia Al Islamia, was committed to stand trial here on a charge of having published misleading information calculated to disturb the public peace. The Arab editor was released when he posted bail of fifty pounds.
Some time ago the Sheikh’s paper carried a story saying that the bodies of two Arabs had been found in the Jordan River and that “they were murdered and thrown into the river by Jewish workers of the Palestine Electric Corporation” (the Rutenberg concession).
A complaint to the public prosecutor resulted in an action against the paper. The Beisan correspondent testified at the preliminary hearing that his report merely stated that the Arabs had been drowned. An investigation showed that the men were victims of a bathing tragedy.
If convicted, which seems certain, the Sheikh faces a long prison term under an ordinance prohibiting incitement of one section of the population against another.
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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.