Bibi Angry Over Mosque Arson Attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed fury Monday over the torching of a mosque in an Upper Galilee village the night before and instructed the Shin Bet chief to quickly locate those responsible.
“The prime minister was furious when he saw the pictures, and said that the incident contradicts the values of the State of Israel – such as freedom of religion and freedom of worship,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “The pictures are horrifying and have no place in Israel,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
The mosque arson, in the Israeli Arab village of Tuba-Zangariyee, is suspected to be a ‘price tag’ attack carried out by Jewish extremists angry over the government’s policy with regard to West Bank settlements.
The entire interior of the mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage, and oly books inside the mosque were burned. Graffiti with the words “price tag” was found on the wall of the mosque. Similar attacks have been carried out in West Bank mosques, but this was the first to occur in an Israeli Arab town.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni said Monday that the act must be condemned. “Burning mosques contradicts Israel’s values as a Jewish state,” she said. “Such serious incidents obligate us to conduct a national self-examination.”
Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra’am Ta’al) responded furiously to the attack, saying: “whoever did not stop this cancerous growth and burning of mosques in the occupied territories should not be surprised if this cancer spreads to the state of Israel as well.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
