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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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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.