Bush pardons Man Who Helped Jewish Resistance in 1940s

Aaron Keyak — December 23, 2008 – 5:13 pm | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

In taking a look at President George W. Bush's latest pardons I thought this one was interesting. This was reported in an AP article today.

Included in the latest list is Charles Winters, who is considered a hero in Israel.

Winters, who died in the 1980s in Florida, was in the airplane business after World War II. He bought up former military cargo planes and used them to transport fruit and other products. He later started helping his Jewish friends who were shipping arms to Jews trying to found their own state in the Middle East.

Winters, a Protestant from Boston, could fly his planes in and out of the region without interference from authorities. In 1948, three of his planes left Miami, picked up weapons in Azores and Czechoslovakia and then left the planes and arms in Palestine.

Winters was convicted of violating the Neutrality Act, fined $5,000 and sentenced to serve 18 months in prison. The act is designed to ensure that financial assistance and arms are not provided to parties in foreign conflicts where the U.S. has not taken sides.

Click here to read the rest of the piece.

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