Two 15-year-old youths were remanded here at the House of Detention pending trial in juvenile court, following arraignment on charges of attempting to burn down the B’nai Israel synagogue last week. They were apprehended through the joint efforts of the police and the Philadelphia Jewish Community Relations Council.
In his confession, one of the prisoners frankly admitted to anti-Semitism and boasted that had he been successful in the bombing of B’nai Israel he would have spread his arson attempts to other synagogues. The admissions told how the plot was conceived three weeks ago with a gasoline-filled bottle designed to explode and ignite when thrown at the building. Originally, four youths were together in the plot, but two withdrew at the last minute, according to the confessions.
Nathan Agran, representing the Jewish Community Relations Council, told the court that the Jewish community will insist on full punishment in the case. Mr. Agran explained it was providential that the synagogue was not destroyed by the gasoline bomb thrown by the two hoodlums Friday night or that some 60 persons in the building at the time were not injured in the subsequent blaze.
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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.
