Beitar Illit resident charged with Jerusalem synagogue arson

State prosecutors filed charges today against a 23-year-old resident of Beitar Illit, the suspect in an arson attack on a Jerusalem synagogue frequented by former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

He is accused of plotting two separate arson attacks overnight on June 8 in Jerusalem’s Sanhedria neighborhood, targeting the Or Habib synagogue and a nearby apartment building.

The suspect’s name remains barred from publication under a gag order implemented at the time of his arrest.

According to the indictment, the defendant first tried to set fire to an apartment building adjacent to the prominent synagogue. He vandalized residents’ doors with spray paint before dousing a door and elevator with flammable liquid and setting them alight. Residents extinguished the fire before it could do significant damage.

Later that night, at around 4 a.m, he allegedly broke into the synagogue and poured flammable liquid on the chair of the esteemed Sephardi rabbi, then set it on fire.

With no one to put it out, the blaze spread, scorching holy books and causing significant damage to the building’s AC and electrical systems.

In the indictment filed today in the Jerusalem District Court, prosecutors charge the suspect with arson and intentional property damage. They are requesting to extend his remand until the end of legal proceedings.

The arson attack, which received widespread condemnation from across the political field, was initially probed by the Shin Bet as a terror incident.

Many ultra-Orthodox politicians blamed the incident on anti-Haredi “incitement” related to the fight over the conscription of yeshiva students. This seems to be in doubt due to the suspect being from Beitar Illit, a Haredi city.