Judge Curbs Religious Questions for Kahane Jurors

The judge in the murder trial of an Egyptian Muslim accused of killing extremist Israeli Rabbi Meir Kahane said Wednesday that he will not permit lawyers to ask potential jurors their religion.

“I consider that to be a gross invasion of a person’s privacy,” Judge Alvin Schlesinger said. “There is no need for a juror to be stripped naked here.”

The judge said he will allow the lawyers to ask potential jurors in the trial of El Sayyid Nosair whether they have “a particular religious belief that might give rise to bias.”

Schlesinger decided the issue after defense attorney Michael Warren said, “We would certainly want to ask them what religion they are, whether it’s Judaism, and, if so, what’s their opinion of the JDL.”

The Jewish Defense League is a militant organization founded by Kahane. Its members have fought with the defendant’s Arab supporters inside and outside the Manhattan courthouse where Nosair is on trial.

The defense will be allowed to ask whether a prospective juror considers a person a terrorist just because that person is a Muslim.

Nosair, 35, of Cliffside Park, N. J., is accused of killing Kahane on Nov. 5, 1990, after the rabbi gave a speech.

Kahane, who advocated the expulsion of all Arabs from Israeli-controlled territory, was answering questions after his address to a Zionist group when Nosair, an Egyptian immigrant, allegedly shot him with a revolver.

Nosair, who has been held without bail, has pleaded not guilty. He says he was framed by someone who placed the murder weapon next to him after he was wounded.