Bilingual Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem torched
Police investigate possible arson after anti-Arab graffiti found sprayed on building in Pat neighborhood
A fire broke out Saturday evening on the grounds of a dual Hebrew and Arabic language school in southern Jerusalem, sparking suspicion of politically motivated arson.
Firefighters gained control over the blaze at the Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem’s Pat neighborhood. On the walls of the building, emergency responders found anti-Arab graffiti which said “death to Arabs,” “Kahane was right” and “down with assimilation.”
“There is no coexistence with cancer,” read another tag spray painted on a wall.
Initial investigation by the fire department found that the blaze was set intentionally. Evidence from the scene was handed over to police investigators.
No injuries were reported, but serious damage was caused to one of the classrooms, and several walls of the structure suffered minor damage as well, Israel Radio reported.
Police were at the scene of the fire and were investigating the background of the incident.
The five Hand in Hand schools across the country educate over 1,000 students and aims to “create a strong, inclusive, shared society in Israel” through bilingual education in Hebrew and Arabic, and with integrated classes.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat condemned the suspected attack on the school, saying City Hall won’t allow pyromaniacs and rioters to take the law into their own hands and disrupt the pace of life in the city.
“We’ll continue to denounce the radicals and do all that’s necessary to return quiet to Jerusalem,” he said.
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The head of the school, Shuli Dichter, told Israel Radio that Saturday’s incident wasn’t the first, but that vandals won’t succeeed in destroying the school. Dichter called on the public not only to condemn the act, but to join in building Jewish-Arab cooperation in Israel.
Education Minister Shai Piron spoke out against the possible arson, saying it was a “violent, criminal and despicable act done to undermine the foundations of Israeli democracy.”
Saturday’s incident came amid heightened tensions in the capital between its Jewish and Arab residents following multiple deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians and amid friction over the status of the Temple Mount.
The suspected arson attack occurred shortly before a demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, at which protesters denounced growing racism in Israel, and voiced their opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed “Jewish state” legislation. An estimated 2,000 people, including representatives of Labor, Meretz and Peace Now, participated in the protest.
