Criminal trespassing in Palestine has become a serious problem to the courts, Judge Sherwell, president of the Jerusalem district court, declared here.
There is an increase of forty per cent in the number of misdemeanors and of more than 100 per cent in the number of crimes in January, 1935, as compared with January of last year, the judge announced. He expressed the hope that subsequent months would show a reduction in the figures.
LINKS RISE TO SPECULATION
“It is to be noted,” the judge stated, “that the increase in cases of criminal trespassing appears to have followed the unfortunate pace of land speculation which now prevails and the unprecedented rise in land values. Criminal trespass, though not necessarily a serious offense per se, nevertheless in this country has from time immemorial given rise, not infrequently, to the most serious consequences, namely, murder and wounding.”
Judge Sherwell expressed the belief that many of the cases of criminal trespassing have been directly instigated by members of different communities to further their own ends.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
