4 Jewish Extremists Arrested in Israel
Four more activists with Lehava, a group that opposes Arab-Israeli coexistence and assimilation, were arrested.
Four other members of the controversial organization also were brought in for questioning on Sunday.
The arrests came less than a week after the head of Lehava, Benji Gopstein, was arrested in his West Bank hometown of Kiryat Arba. Nine other Lehava members also were arrested in raids across the country on suspicion of incitement to violence early last week.
Three Lehava members were charged Dec. 15 with vandalizing and setting fire to an Arab-Jewish school in Jerusalem, the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School, last month. The charged members reportedly admitted to the arson attack.
The Lehava activists arrested or detained on Sunday are from Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion, Beitar Illit, Netivot and Herzliya.
Lehava opposes intermarriage and joint Jewish-Arab initiatives. Members of the group staged a protest this year opposite a marriage between an Israeli Muslim man and a Jewish woman.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
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.
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 polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO