Jewish extremist gets two years for manifesto encouraging violence

The Rehovot Magistrate’s Court on Thursday sentenced 24-year-old Moshe Orbach to two years in prison and six months of probation for writing a document inciting violence against non-Jews.

Orbach, of Bnei Brak, was convicted a month ago of sedition, marking the first time in a decade an Israeli court found someone guilty of the charge.

The document, which was named “Kingdom of Evil,” calls for violence and terror against adherents of non-Jewish religions, and provides specific instruction for burning down the homes of Palestinians and establishing Jewish terror cells.

It was first found during the investigation into the torching of the Church of the Multiplication on the banks of the Sea of Galilee in July 2015, making Orbach a third suspect in that case.

A priest inspects the damage caused to the Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha, on the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, which was set on fire in what police suspect was an arson attack, on June 18, 2015. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

The church in Tabgha, on the northwestern shore of the lake, is at the site where many Christians believe Jesus fed the 5,000 in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.

“The severe nature of the document is potentially devastating if it reaches the eyes and ears of those who have violence in their hearts,” Menachem Mizrachi, the presiding judge, wrote in his ruling.

“In light of the circumstances, I believe this case warrants a severe punishment, one that will deter others from behaving in a similar fashion, and will make clear to the defendant that Israeli courts do not take lightly such actions, which have the power to rupture the delicate fabric of the Israeli society.”

Orbach’s document provided detailed instructions for burning down Palestinian homes, saying attackers should “arm themselves with a Molotov cocktail, a lighter, gloves, a hammer or crowbar.”

“You get to the village and there you look for a house. You break a glass door or a window and pour the gasoline inside, or simply light the Molotov cocktail and throw it in,” he wrote. “In order to prevent the residents from escaping, you can leave burning tires in the entrance to the house.”

The goal of such actions, Orbach went on, is “to create as many severe casualties as possible. In order to kick them senseless, you should beat them on the head to render them unconscious.”

In July of last year, three members of a Palestinian family — 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabshah and his parents — were killed when Molotov cocktails was hurled into their home in the West Bank town of Duma. Authorities have charged two Israelis in the attack.