Two leaders of the Jewish collective “Shtern”, near Odessa, were sentenced to death by the High Court of Ukraine, which found them guilty of concealing grain due the government, as an example to grain speculators.
In view of the excellent past record of the two, however, the sentence was commuted and both were released.
The two Jews sentenced are G. D. Seider, chairman of the collective, and Jacob Woidenbach, inspector of granaries. The court also ordered the confiscation of their property.
The court found them guilty of concealing 548 pud grain underground while the government received only 48% of its quota.
The commutation of the sentence was ordered in view of Seider’s excellent record last year when the entire quota was sent to the government and in view of the regret expressed by both.
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.
