Joseph Sprinzak, Histadruth leader and member of the Labor Party, was last night elected chairman of the Israeli State Council, it was revealed here this morning. Sprinzak became a member of the Council only yesterday, replacing Goldie Meirson who was appointed Minister to the Soviet Union.
Dr. Abraham Granovsky, managing director of the Jewish National Fund and a General Zionist, was named deputy chairman, as was Nahum Nir of the United Labor Party. A third deputy chairman, assigned to the Mizrachi, has not yet been appointed. A move to give the Revisionists a deputy chairmanship was defeated 14-l2.
Military expenditures trill be passed upon by the Finance Commission but will not be published, it was learned here. Since May 15 the government has grated import licenses to bring in goods valued at nearly $8,000,000, despite the fact that most of its currency assets are frozen in London.
The Israeli Supreme Court today began hearings on a habeas corpus proceeding brought by attorney Max Seligman in behalf of Peter Bergson, chairman of the American Hebrew Committee of National Liberation, and Jacob Meridor, deputy chief of the Irgun, who are being held on charges of responsibility for the recent Irgun clash with the army when the government halted an attempt by the dissidents to land arms near Tel Aviv in defiance of the U.N. truce.
The order obtained by Seligman demanded the appearance in court of Premier David Ben Gurion, in the capacity of Defense Minister. When the chief of staff of the army arrived instead, Seligman challenged the legality of the action and the hearing was postponed until the court decided the point.
Yesterday, fro the first time, Seligman was permitted to visit his clients at a detention camp in the Afuleh district. Bergson complained to Seligman against the fact that he was confined to a single cell and disclosed that he had been moved a number of times within this camp and another, in which he was imprisoned earlier. He insisted that he was not informed of the charges against him until three weeks after he was arrested.
Meridor showed Seligman a copy of an agreement between the army commander and himself which granted immunity to all Irgunists involved in the Kfar Vitkin battle when the first arms landing was attempted. Meridor insisted that he was arrested in violation of this pact.
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.
