AN ATTEMPT ON THE LIFE OF CHIEF MAGISTRATE RALPH B. BODILLY, WHO HAS SENTENCED MANY ARAB TERRORISTS, WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN FRUSTRATED TODAY BY AN ALERT BRITISH CONSTABLE.
MOTORING ON THE JAFFA-TEL AVIV BORDER, BODILLY WAS OVERTAKEN BY A CAR OCCUPIED BY FOUR ARABS, ONE OF WHOM POINTED TO THE MAGISTRATE, SHOUTING, “HERE HE IS!” THE CONSTABLE ACCOMPANYING BODILLY QUICKLY POINTED HIS RIFLE AT THE ARABS, AND THEY FLED.
THE INCIDENT OCCURRED SHORTLY AFTER THE MAGISTRATE, ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR ON PALESTINE’S BENCH, HAD RECEIVED A THREATENING LETTER.
MAJOR-GENERAL ARCHIBALD P. WAVELL, COMMANDER OF BRITISH FORCES IN PALESTINE, INSPECTING THE CELEBRATED BLACK WATCH REGIMENT, WHICH ARRIVED HERE RECENTLY, URGED THE TROOPS TO BE ALWAYS ON THE ALERT FOR THE UNEXPECTED.
THE ARABS, HE SAID, ARE A GOOD-HUMORED PEOPLE, 95 PER CENT OF THEM BEING PEACEFUL AND LAW-ABIDING, WITH THE REMAINING FIVE PER CENT MISCHIEF-MAKERS. “I SHALL NOT SPEAK ABOUT POLITICS,” HE ADDED. “THE INTRICACIES OF THE SITUATION WILL BE EXPLAINED BY THE OFFICERS.”
GENERAL WAVELL SAID THE WORST FEATURE OF THE PRESENT SITUATION WAS SECURITY. HE RECALLED THAT HE HAD VISITED PALESTINE 22 YEARS AGO, WHEN THE CITY OF TEL AVIV DID NOT EXIST AND THE AREA WAS ENTIRELY SAND DUNES.
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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.
