PALESTINE TODAY COUNTED FOUR JEWISH AND FOURTEEN ARABS DEATHS IN NINE DAYS’ DISORDERS AS THE HEBREW YEAR 5698 OPENED IN AN ATMOSPHERE ELECTRIC WITH THE EXPECTATION OF NEW OUTBREAKS.
THE LATEST FATALITY OCCURRED TODAY WHEN RABBI ELIEZER GERSTEIN, 44, SUCCUMBED TO WOUNDS HE RECEIVED FRIDAY WHEN SHOT WHILE RETURNING FROM THE WAILING WALL.
AN ARAB MERCHANT WAS SHOT DEAD IN THE CHRISTIAN QUARTER OF SAFED YESTERDAY. HE HAD BEEN THREATENED PREVIOUSLY BY TERRORISTS FOR SUPPLYING MEAT TO JEWS. A JEWS, EPHRAIM WEINER, WAS STABBED AND SLIGHTLY INJURED BY AN ARAB IN HAIFA.
35 JEWS IMPRISONED AT ACRE
GOVERNMENT MEASURES TO SUPPRESS DISTURBANCES INCLUDED ARREST AND SUMMARY SENTENCE OF 35 JEWS TO THE CONCENTRATION CAMP AT ACRE–THE FIRST TIME JEWS WERE SENT TO ACRE — DISMISSAL OF MANY JEWISH SUPERNUMERARY POLICEMEN AND INTENSIVE SEARCHES OF JEWISH QUARTERS.
RELATIVES WHO VISITED JEWISH PRISONERS IN JAIL REPORTED TO DAVAR, HEBREW LABORITE DAILY, THAT THE JEWS WERE CONFINED TOGETHER WITH ARAB CRIMINALS AND FORBIDDEN TO OBTAIN FOOD FROM THE OUTSIDE.
THE NEW ZIONIST ORGANIZATION, IN A PRESS STATEMENT, PROTESTED AGAINST EXILING OF ITS MEMBERS TO ACRE AND DECLARED THE GOVERNMENT’S ACTION CONSTITUTED AN ATTEMPT TO SHAKE OFF RESPONSIBILITY FOR TERRORISM OF THE PAST 18 MONTHS AND SHIFT IT TO THE JEWS.
TEN ARABS OF A VILLAGE NEAR HEDERA WERE ARRESTED AND SENT TO THE ACRE CONCENTRATION CAMP. THE ZIONIST-REVISIONIST NEWSPAPER, HAYARDEN, WAS SUSPENDED FOR A MONTH AND THE ARAB AL LIWAA FOR SIX WEEKS. ARMED POLICEMEN WERE ESCORTING ARAB BUSES PASSING THE JEWISH QUARTERS OF JERUSALEM, AND JEWISH BUSES PASSING THE ARAB SECTIONS. THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY ON MT. SCOPUS WAS FIRED UPON AND THE POLICE REPLIED. THERE WERE NO CAUSALITIES.
A BOMB THROWN INTO AN ARAB BUS PASSING HADASSAH HOSPITAL SATURDAY KILLED AN ARABS WOMAN, SEVERELY INJURED ANOTHER AND SLIGHTLY WOUNDED A BRITISH CONSTABLE. THE CONSTABLE AND A PALESTINIAN OFFICER OPENED FIRE ON THE BOMB-THROWER, BUT HE ESCAPED UNHIT. POLICE IMMEDIATELY RAIDED AN N.Z.O. CLUBHOUSE NEARBY AND ARRESTED THREE MEMBERS.
IN HAIFA, AN ARAB NOTABLE OF THE MODERATE NASHASHIBIST PARTY, IBRAHIM BEY EL KHALIL, WAS SHOT FATALLY.
A REVISIONIST NAMED RUBENSTEIN EMPLOYED AT A STATION OF THE PALESTINE ELECTRIC COMPANY AND ANOTHER EMPLOYE NAMED LIS, BOTH OF HEDERA, WERE SENTENCED TO THE ACRE CONCENTRATION CAMP FOR A YEAR. OTHERS FROM HEDERA WERE SENTENCED TO TWELVE DAYS.
SEIZURE OF JEWS PROTESTED
WITH 35 JEWS, INCLUDING SEVERAL AMERICANS, ALREADY SENTENCED TO CONCENTRATION CAMP, MANY MORE IN CUSTODY AND POLICE CONTINUING TO MASS ARRESTS THROUGHOUT PALESTINE, A STORM OF INDIGNATION SWEPT THE 400,000 JEWS IN THE HOLY LAND TODAY.
JEWISH LOCAL OFFICIALS HURRIED TO THE OFFICES OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATORS TO VOICE THEIR SURPRISE AND INDIGNATION, AND THE ENTIRE JEWISH PRESS FEATURED ANGRY ARTICLES ON THE ARRESTS, DESCRIBING WHAT THEY TERMED INDISCRIMINATE SEIZURE OF JEWISH PASSERS-BY IN THE STREETS OF HEDERA AND KARKUR.
A DELEGATION REPRESENTING LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS CALLED UPON ATTORNEY GENERAL W.J. FITZGERALD TO EXPRESS CONSTERNATION OVER THE ARREST AND SENTENCING TO CONCENTRATION CAMP OF PERSONS WHO THE DELEGATES INSISTED WERE INNOCENT. DAVAR, TERMING THE ACTIONS OF THE AUTHORITIES INCREDIBLE AND UNPRECEDENTED, DECLARED THAT PRISONERS GENERALLY KNOWN TO BE PEACEFUL LABORERS HAD BEEN SENTENCED WITHOUT BEING QUESTIONED.
AT-HEDERA, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER NORTH, ACCOMPANIED BY A STRONG POLICE DETACHMENT, QUESTIONED THE LOCAL COUNCIL ABOUT SUSPECTS. THE COUNCIL REPLIED THAT IT WAS CERTAIN THERE WERE NONE, POINTING OUT THAT FOR FIFTY YEARS HEDERA HAD LIVED ON GOOD TERMS WITH THE ARABS.
THE COMMISSIONER SAID THAT BLOODHOUNDS HAD LED THE POLICE TOWARD HEDERA, BUT THE COUNCIL MEMBERS REJECTED THIS AS EVIDENCE, POINTING OUT THAT EVEN DURING THE INTERVIEW MANY ARABS WERE PASSING PEACEFULLY THROUGH THE COLONY.
A DELEGATION FROM SAMARIA INTERVENED WITH THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER REGARDING ARRESTS IN THE LOCALITY, AND MAYOR ROKACH OF TEL AVIV MADE REPRESENTATIONS TO ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER JAMES POLLOCK. REPRESENTATIONS WERE ALSO BEING MADE TO ACTING HIGH COMMISSIONER WILLIAM D. BATTERSHILL. HIGH COMMISSIONER SIR ARTHUR GRENFELL WAUCHOPE LEFT FOR LONDON SATURDAY ON A TWO-MONTH LEAVE OF ABSENCE.
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.
