The Israel Police on Monday arrested a 30-year-old resident of Ramle, a mixed Jewish-Arab city in central Israel, on suspicion of trying to set fire to a local synagogue late on Sunday night.
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Police and fire investigators who arrived at the scene concluded that arson may have been the cause and opened an investigation. A source familiar with the case said the police plan to seek the man's remand at a hearing set for Tuesday morning.
According to available details, the man broke into the synagogue and attempted to set it on fire, but the flames did not spread, damaging only the rabbi's chair.
"A synagogue in the center of Ramle was set on fire tonight," local social activist Meir Layosh tweeted. "Can you imagine what would have happened if it had been a mosque? All the politicians boasting false morality would have rushed to condemn [it], demand the perpetrators face the full extent of the law, and be appalled by the 'incitement.' And now? Silence. Remember that the next time you hear them speak. This is disgraceful."
Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich condemned the incident strongly, saying, "The sight of a torched synagogue comes from the darkest times in the Jewish people's history. The government's indifference toward antisemitic incidents in the heart of Israel is unacceptable."
Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, echoed the outrage, saying, "If this was a mosque the entire world would decry this and MKs would be denouncing it, but when we're dealing with a synagogue no one makes a sound."
He demanded the police "set up a special task force to investigate such acts of terror, just like they do for price-tag incidents.
The police "must use an iron fist in the face of terrorists: in deterrence, punishment and an appropriate response before an escalation occurs," he added. "The terrorists recognize weakness and when there is no response on the ground, they raise their heads. Without an appropriate response, they will continue to raise their heads."
"Price tag" is the name given to attacks and act of vandalism committed by extremist settler youth, primarily across Judea and Samaria, and chiefly against Palestinians.
Such acts have been and are widely condemned by Israeli politicians from all major parties, including by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who have demanded that those responsible for such acts be brought to justice.
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