Jewish Extremist Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison For Arson At Historic Church
A fireman sprays water at the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the shores on the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, on June 18, 2015, in the aftermath of an arson attack. Image by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
(JTA) — A 22-year-old Jewish man known to have extremist views was sentenced to four years in prison for the 2015 arson at a historic church in northern Israel.
The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court also ordered Yinon Reuveni to pay some $14,000 in compensation to the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes in the Galilee, a Roman Catholic church built at the site where Christians believe Jesus multiplied bread and fish to feed 5,000 people.
The court had convicted Reuveni in July and said his sentence will be counted from his original arrest in July 2015.
A suspected accomplice, Yehuda Asraf, 21, was acquitted in July.
Reuveni was indicted last year for the arson and charged with another one in Jerusalem. According to the indictment, Reuveni committed the church arson due to negative beliefs he held about Christianity.
According to the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, he and his friends belong to an ideological group seeking to “change the government and bring closer the redemption,” among others things by targeting Christian sites across Israel. Reuveni lived in the West Bank outpost of Baladim, which is said be a hotbed of extremism.
At the time of the attack, graffiti reading “False idols will be smashed” and “pagans” were found on the walls of the church, leading police to believe the fire was set deliberately as part of a hate crime.
The church, located in the area of Tabgha, is built on the site of a fifth-century church and contains restored mosaic floors from the time period. The attack, which was widely condemned in Israel, did not damage the church, but other buildings in the complex were harmed, according to The Times of Israel. Renovations to reopen the complex cost around $1 million.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
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.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
