Two Jewish youths, Abraham Katalan and Joseph Gabriel, today went on trial charged with possession of a loaded submachine gun, four pistols and two smoke bombs. The Jews are suspected of being Irgunists who served as guards for two British constables kidnapped by the underground organization last June 9.
The policemen, E.P. Hackett and P.C. Ward, were abducted at pistol point by a band of about a dozen Jews, including one girl, from a crowded swimming pool at Ramath Gan. Two days later, after police, acting on a tip, had surrounded Kiryat Shaul, about 10 miles north of Tel Aviv, the two men walked from their prison to a military patrol.
They had been held, they said, as hostages for the safety of three Irgunists who were at that time in Acre Prison awaiting execution. However, several hours before they had been found, their captors left the prison room saying they had to “make a telephone call” and never returned. Eventually the policemen had no difficulty in releasing themselves and walking to freedom.
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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.
