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Indiana woman attacks Black Hebrew Israelite building, believing it to be Jewish
(JTA) — She thought she was attacking an “Israel school” on behalf of “her people back in Palestine.” Instead an Indiana woman backed her car into a building being used by a group that uses Jewish symbols while often engaging in antisemitic harassment.
That’s according to local news reports and Jewish leaders in Indianapolis, after police arrested Ruba Almaghtheh, 34, Saturday for her attack on a building belonging to a Hebrew Israelite sect, a Black nationalist group.
The police report said she admitted she had intentionally backed her car into a building labeled “Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge,” which has a logo of a distorted Star of David on the front, and announced she did it for “her people back in Palestine” after watching news coverage of the war. There were children inside the building at the time; police labeled Almaghtheh a “terrorist” and leveled a preliminary charge of criminal recklessness.
The local Jewish federation issued a security alert for its community in the wake of the incident on Saturday.
“Although a Jewish facility was not targeted, solely due to ironic misidentification, this is yet another reminder to maintain security protocols, remain vigilant of suspicious activity and to report same promptly to the appropriate authorities,” said the statement signed by leaders of the federation and the local Jewish community relations council.
The incident adds to a growing list of planned or actual attacks on Jews amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and spiking antisemitism that has accompanied it. In the United States, people have been arrested in recent weeks for breaking into Jewish homes and directing antisemitic threats at Jewish organizations, Jewish politicians and Jewish college students, while Jews in France have also been attacked and an antisemitic mob recently swarmed an airport in Russia’s Dagestan region.
Following Almaghtheh’s arrest, the local Jewish federation, Jewish Community Relations Council and its security advisory group, Safe Indiana, alerted the local Jewish community to the incident. The groups stated that the “threat level” for Jewish safety in the area “has not increased,” even as it appeared Almaghtheh had meant to target a Jewish building.
The Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge is one of a number of Hebrew Israelite sects condemned as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League because of their tactics and rhetoric, which includes claiming that Black people are the only “true” Jews. (Not all Hebrew Israelite sects employ those tactics and rhetoric, and some Hebrew Israelites collaborate with Jewish communities. The ADL is careful to distinguish the sects from actual Jews of color.)
Almaghtheh is expected in court on Wednesday. Local police have alerted the FBI to the incident. Requests for comment to the Safe Indiana regional security advisor were not returned.
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The post Indiana woman attacks Black Hebrew Israelite building, believing it to be Jewish appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.
According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.
In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.
The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.
Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.
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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.
IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.
Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.
Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.
Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.
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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.
Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.
Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.
“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”