A Jewish man who sought to commit arson in a Christian holy site in Jerusalem on Friday was charged today with arson and “entering a place of prayer for racist reasons.”
The site in question, the Church of All Nations, lies on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Some Christians believe the church contains a stone upon which Jesus prayed.
A priest checks the damage after a man poured out flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane, in East Jerusalem, on December 4, 2020. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
Police had originally said that they believed the suspect, Yehoshua Alkobi, a 49-year old resident of Gilo in Jerusalem, was simply a serial arsonist.
But prosecutors now affirm that the attack was motivated by “antagonism or hatred towards a religious group.”
The suspect, a 49-year-old resident of Gilo, spilled “flammable material” inside the church before setting it alight.
Around NIS 28,000 ($8,609) of damage was caused to nine of the pews in the church, according to prosecutors.
— Aaron Boxerman
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
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
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
