WORLD : Slayer Rabbi Borne to Prison

JERUSALEM — Rabbi Moshe Levinger, a founder of the Jewish settlement movement, was borne on the shoulders of armed supporters to an Israeli prison today to begin a five-month sentence for killing a Palestinian.

The settlers, numbering in the hundreds, sang the anthem of the settlement movement “Am Israel Chai,” which is Hebrew for “The Jewish People Live.” Many waved Israeli flags and some raised loaded assault rifles in the air.

Levinger pleaded guilty to death by negligence in the shooting of a Hebron shoe store owner on Sept. 30, 1988. He was originally charged with manslaughter, but the charges were reduced in a plea bargain. He was sentenced on May 1.

According to witnesses, Levinger fired indiscriminately after Palestinian youths stoned his car. The victim, Kayed Sallah, 42, was hit in his stomach as he stood before his shop.