The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the highest tribunal in the British Empire, opened the hearing to-day, with Lord Dunedin, Chairman, Lord Blanesburgh and Lord Darling as the judges, of an action which has been before the courts of Palestine on several occasions in the last seven or eight years, the appeal being brought by Rabbi Abraham Shorr against the decision of the Palestine Supreme Court removing him from his office as trustee of the United Jewish Home for the Aged in Jerusalem, Moshev Zakeinim.
The decision of the Palestine Supreme Court against which the appeal is being brought, was handed down on December 16th., 1927, declaring that the Moshev Zakeinum was a charitable trust within the meaning of the Charitable Trust Ordinance, and also declaring that the trusteeship of the charity was vacant and therefore they appointed somebody else.
The case began about the time of the end of the war, when Rabbi Shorr applied to the court to stop the Postmaster General of Palestine from delivering letters containing cheques and remittances for the institution to any persons except himself, on the ground that he was the only proper recipient. At first the Postmaster agreed to do this, but later he refused. When the case was first tried before Justice Baker and Justice Valero in May 1923, Rabbi Shorr lost the case on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction, because the Moshev Zakeinim was a religious endowment constituted according to Rabbinical law and therefore exclusive jurisdiction was by Article 53 of the Palestine Order-in-Council (1922) vested in the Jewish Rabbinical court. Rabbi Schorr appealed against this judgment and the appeal was heard by the Supreme Court of Palestine, consisting of Sir Thomas Hayeraft, Justice Corrie and Justice Frumkin. They allowed the appeal and sent the case back to the District Court to hear further evidence on the question whether the institution was a religious endowment, and if so, whether it was properly constituted under the Rabbinical law.
The District Court again decided that the Rabbinical Court had the exclusive jurisdiction. Rabbi Shorr appealed again and the Court of Appeal sent it back again to the District Court to get further evidence. At the end of 1925 the Beth Din interfered and applied to the court that certain persons should be appointed trustees. After some hesitation the court allowed these persons to be heard as third parties, but did not decide the question as to what was to be done with the letters in the hands of the Postmaster-General.
On July 5th. 1927, the case was again heard by the District Court, which found that the institution was not a Rabbinical trust – Waqf – (religious endowment), but that it was a charitable trust. In virtue of this fact, they declared that the office of trustee is at present vacant and that neither Rabbi Shorr nor the third parties are fit persons to be trustees. They therefore gave leave to the Attorney General of Palestine to appoint new trustees, who would be confirmed in their position by the court.
Three trustees were then appointed by the court on the application of the Attorney-General. These three were Akiba Eliash, Moses Silver, and A. H. Goldsmith, who are still acting as trustees. Rabbi Shorr appealed to the Court of Appeal against the judgment of the District Court. The appeal was heard on September 23rd., 1927, by Chief Justice Sir Michael McDonnell, Mr. Justice Corrie and Mr. Justice Khyat. The Judgment of this court was delivered on September 16th., 1927, dismissing the appeal of Rabbi Shorr. It is this judgment against which Rabbi Shorr has now appealed to the Privy Council. Rabbi Shorr is represented by Mr. Jeffrey Lawrence, K.C., and Mr. Horace B. Samuel, while the respondents are represented by Messrs. Landman and Foy, acting on behalf of Dr. Eliash of Jerusalem, and Mr. Phineas Quass is appearing as Counsel for the respondents.
During the hearing on Friday Mr. Jeffrey Lawrence and Mr. Samuel dealt with various juridical questions.
Mr. Quass, for the respondent, then explained that for the last 4½ years the present trustees had been in control of this Home for the Aged without any suggestion that this control was not to the benefit of the institution. He pointed out that the Home was the largest Jewish charity in Palestine. It had been established about 50 years ago by the well-known Jewish pioneers, Pines, Frumkin and Ben Tovim, of the early settlers, and there were several hundred aged Jews benefiting from the institution living in Jerusalem at the present time.
After various arguments, the case was adjourned until Monday.
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.
