A 15-year-old from Afula has been indicted for breaking into a synagogue in the northern Israeli city, damaging Torah texts and other holy books, and setting fires inside the building.
The indictment was filed by the Northern District Prosecutor’s Office. It alleges that the teen acted out of hostility toward the Jewish public after an argument with members of his family.
The incident occurred on October 19. A man arriving to open the synagogue found it filled with heavy smoke and badly damaged, and called the police emergency line.
Officers found holy books strewn across the floor and soaked with various liquids. Rolls of toilet paper had been set on fire in the bathroom, and the synagogue’s charity box had been stolen.
Police identified and arrested the suspect, a local resident, shortly afterward. During questioning, investigators learned that he had argued with relatives shortly before going to the synagogue.
The indictment, filed by attorney Noy Shtarit, charges him with entering a place of worship to commit a crime, racially motivated malicious damage to property, and theft.
The case is the latest in a string of incidents targeting synagogues in Israel in recent months. In Rishon LeZion, an attempt to demolish a synagogue ended with an agreement to preserve the building. In Netanya, a man in his fifties was arrested on suspicion of a series of attempted arsons, including an attempt to set fire to a synagogue at Laniado Medical Center.
