MembersIsrael Punishes Jew for Burning Church of the Loaves and Fishes

It took Israel two years to convict the person responsible for the attempt to burn down the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes (also known by its Arabic name of Tabgha).

By Israel Today Staff |
Yinon Reubeni and Yehuda Assaraf, two of the suspects of vandalizing the church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee last month speaks to their lawyers at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court on July 29, 2015. Photo by Basel Awidat/Flash90 Photo: Basel Awidat/Flash90

In June 2015, firefighters responding to the scene found Hebrew graffiti reading “the idols shall be cut off.” Suspicion fell immediately on the “Price Tag” movement, a small group of young religious men whose hallmark is vandalism of mosques and churches. Of the four suspects initially arrested, only one, 22-year-old Yinon Reuveni, was eventually convicted. Reuveni was described by the Israel Security Agency as the leader of a small local group of radicals who set out to burn mosques and churches in an effort to establish the kingdom of God on the ruins of the State of Israel.

 

Another of those initially arrested for the crime was Moshe Orbach, who had written a guide titled “The Malicious Kingdom” on how to commit arson without getting caught. While he cautioned against casualties, Orbach was later sentenced to two years in...

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