Three right-wing Israelis charged with arson attack on Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office on Monday filed an indictment with the Jerusalem District Court against three men for the arson and “price-tag” attack at Jerusalem’s integrated Max Rayne Hand in Hand School late last month.

The three, Yitzhak Gabai, 22 of Jerusalem, Shlomo Rachamim Twitto, 20 of Beitar Illit, and Nachman Twitto, 18 of Beitar Illit, were charged with arson, breaking an entering and destroying property. 

According to the Shin Bet, the suspects are members of the Jewish extremist group Lehava, which follows the racist teachings of the late Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane, whose Kach Party was outlawed by Israel for inciting racism.

Gabai was also indicted for driving without a license and illegal possession of a knife.

Previously, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, “An intensive investigation took place immediately after the incident and arrests were made over the last few days,” said Rosenfeld. “The suspects were arraigned in Petah Tikva because they live in or around that district.”

On November 29, a preschool classroom in the bilingual school, which serves more than 600 Arab and Jewish pupils from throughout Jerusalem in the capital’s Pat neighborhood, was set on fire and anti-Arab hate speech was found spray-painted on a nearby wall.

The incident swiftly drew national and international condemnation amid calls for the suspects to be brought to justice after an initial police investigation showed signs that the fire was set intentionally from inside the school.

Following the vandalism, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat condemned the suspects.

“Pyromaniacs and those who disturb order cannot take the law into their own hands to disrupt the routine of our lives,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of Meretz representatives contended that the incident was directly related to the controversial “Jewish State” bill, which if passed would define Israel as a Jewish state, and which critics argue would further alienate Arab citizens.

Two days after the alleged arson, two Jewish teens were arrested for hanging anti-Arab placards on the school’s exterior walls, stating “Kahane was right” and “Arabs are cancer.”

According to police, both boys, age 14, were initially detained for questioning by the school’s security guard, who called the police.

The state has requested to remand all three to police custody until the end of the proceedings.