GAOL SENTENCES ON JEWS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24913, 28 June 1946, Page 7

GAOL SENTENCES ON JEWS

Military Court’s Announcement DEMONSTRATION BY PRISONERS (N.Z Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 11 p.m.) JERUSALEM, June 27. The 30 members of the Jewish organisation, Irgun Zvai Leumi, who were found guilty by a military Court of carrying firearms and explosives, were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. The remaining accused, who was in addition found guilty of discharging firearms, was sentenced to penal servitude for life. The Exchange Telegraph Agency’s correspondent says that immediately the sentences were announced the accused rose and sang their Jewish anthem, and booed the three members of the military court. Their relatives in the Court joined in the demonstration.

Yesterday, when the Court announced its verdict of guilty, the 30 men sprang to their feet in the prisoners’ dock and shaped up menacingly when British troops moved towards the dock to discipline one of the accused who refused a Court order to sit down. Relatives of the accused men who were in Court shouted encouragement. Troops and police surrounded the dock and restored order. Before the third day’s hearing opened, the prisoners shouted greetings in Hebrew over the heads of the military guard to their relatives. Some of the accused refused to stand when members of the Court entered the courtroom, but they were brought shuffling'to their feet when a British sergeant sharply ordered them to stand up. One of the accused, in evidence, said that the Jewish underground army was fighting “a righteous war for the independence and liberation of a slave nation against an oppressor nation.” He then shouted defiantly: “If Jewish blood is outlawed, British blood will be outlawed.” Another defendant maintained that every Jew ought to carry arms and train for a war of liberation. Four Jews, alleging ill-treatment by their guards, have started a hunger strike at the Latrun camp where all the terrorists recently arrested are detained. Reuter’s Haifa correspondent says that the British destroyer Venus fired three shots across the bows of the illegal immigrant ship, Josiah Wedgwood, as it was attempting to enter the port of Haifa. Disembarkation had been arranged for daybreak. The Josiah Wedgwood attempted to escape three shadowing destroyers by dashing to Haifa at full speed and attempting to send off a boat containing about 20 persons, who were intercepted and arrested. Armed men raided diamond polishing works near Te Aviv, held up the manager, and escaped with diamonds estimated to be worth £30,000 to £40,000, and also cash.