Graffiti reading 'death to the Arabs' and 'price tag' in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa on January 26, 2018 (Israel Police)
A car was torched in East Jerusalem overnight Thursday-Friday and “Death to the Arabs” graffiti was found nearby in what police are investigating as a possible anti-Arab hate crime.
Firefighters were called to Beit Safafa overnight when the vehicle went up in flames.
Police then discovered Hebrew-language vandalism in the area, including the words “price tag” daubed on a wall, along with “death to the Arabs.”
Firefighters extinguish a torched car in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa. January 26, 2018 (Israel Police)
“Price tag” refers to vandalism and other hate crimes carried out by Jewish ultra-nationalists ostensibly in retaliation for government policies perceived as hostile to the settler movement. Mosques, churches, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases have been targeted by nationalist vandals in recent years.
The acts have been condemned by Israeli leaders across the political spectrum.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
In June, cars belonging to Beit Safafa residents had their tires slashed, and a nearby wall was spray-painted with the words “price tag” and “Kahane was right” — invoking the name of slain far-right Israeli activist Rabbi Meir Kahane.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this,please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
