Israelis were outraged today by a bomb explosion just outside the Hebrew University cafeteria which severely injured seven students and slightly injured some 29 others, most of whom were struck by flying glass. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist organization, claimed credit for the latest terrorist act, according to a radio broadcast in Beirut. The Hebrew University declared that it would appeal to all international bodies with which it is affiliated to condemn “this despicable act aimed at sowing destruction and death in a place devoted to research and learning.” The Israeli cabinet denounced the bombing as an attempt at “wanton and indiscriminate bloodshed.”
The seven severely injured students were hospitalized. The rest were sent home after receiving first aid. Police, who described the bomb as “primitive,” said it contained about two pounds of dynamite. It was planted in a window box directly outside the cafeteria. There were about 250 persons inside at the time.
Police said that a “score” of arrests have been made in connection with the bombing. They blocked intersections between the Israeli and Arab sections of Jerusalem to head off possible reprisals by angered Israelis. Two Hebrew University students were killed in a bomb blast in a Jerusalem supermarket on Feb. 21. Police were also investigating a bomb explosion in the Ramallah branch of the Bank Leumi in which one local Arab was reportedly injured.
Eye-witnesses in the cafeteria said there was no panic when the explosion occurred although some students leaped through the plate glass windows fearing a second explosion. The cafeteria was evacuated within two minutes. A police search disclosed no additional bombs. Lectures at the 12,000-student university resumed within an hour after the incident. Hospital authorities said those treated for injuries were all Israelis and that no foreign students appear to have been hurt. None of the 1,000 American students were reported to have been injured.
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.
