Lindsay Hits Fire-bombing of Yeshiva, Leary Told to Give Probe Top Priority

A fire-bomb attack that severely damaged a Brooklyn Yeshiva last Thursday was denounced by Mayor John V. Lindsay as “a deliberate act of outrage.” The Mayor asked Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary to give top priority to an investigation of the incident and to report to him within two weeks.

Mayor Lindsay and four aides visited the fire-blackened premises of Yeshiva Torah and Mesivta Friday accompanied by Rabbi Chaim U. Lipschitz, vice-president of the school, who said the institution also had been attacked on Halloween last year and that there had been other incidents during the year which he regarded as anti-Semitic. The Yeshiva is located in the Parkville section of Brooklyn, an all white neighborhood. Four youths, three of them 14 years old, and the other 15, were charged with juvenile delinquency for alleged participation in the attack and were released in the custody of their parents pending an appearance in Family Court. Police said more than a dozen youths, all whites, hurled rocks, eggs and fire bombs in a 10 minute attack on the Yeshiva last Thursday, which was Halloween. Rabbi Lipschitz said he believed as many as 50 youngsters were involved.

The Mayor and his party also visited the Ali Ezer Yeshiva in an adjacent neighborhood which was severely damaged Oct. 13 by its second fire this year. After surveying the damage Mayor Lindsay said that if a probe indicates arson he would see to it that the police take prompt action. Rabbi Saul Wolf, who showed the Mayor through the burned out interior, estimated the damage at $180,000. He said an insurance company was offering only $60,000 in settlement. Mayor Lindsay suggested that he and some private persons might be able to raise funds to rebuild the school.