2 Jewish Extremists Charged in Bedouin Arson Attack
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Two Jewish extremist teens were indicted for an arson attack last month on a Bedouin tent in the West Bank.
Avi Gafni, 19, and a minor were indicted on charges of incitement, threats, conspiring to commit a felony, and obstructing justice in the mid-August attack , the Shin Bet security service said in a statement after a gag order on the case was lifted Monday.
Gafni, originally of Beit Shemesh, is “a violent ‘hilltop youth’ activist and a member of a Jewish terror group, which is behind the attack,” according to the Shin Bet. He has been ordered by the military several times to stay away from the West Bank after being suspected of involvement in other attacks, according to the Shin Bet.
Graffiti spray-painted on a rock near the burned-down tent, which was used for storage and unoccupied at the time of the attack, included a Star of David and the words “administrative revenge,” which could have referred to the recent administrative detention orders for three suspected Jewish extremists arrested after the July 31 arson attack on a West Bank Palestinian home. Under administrative detention, prisoners can remain in custody for up to six months without a hearing or charges, renewable indefinitely. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners remain in administrative detention in Israeli prisons.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
