JERUSALEM (JTA) – Two Jewish teens from Safed have been indicted for setting fire to two cars owned by Arab students.
The teens were indicted Thursday for torching the cars as revenge for the murder of five members of the Fogel family in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Itamar. They deny the allegations.
The two cars owned by Arab students at the Safed Academic College were set alight March 16 following a campus event to promote dialogue between Jews and Arabs.
Anti-Arab graffiti also was spray-painted on the walls of the college following the event, according to reports. "Arabs get out," "Death to Arabs" and "Kahane was right" were among the epithets.
The event broke down into heated discussions, including whether Arabs have a place in the Jewish state, Haaretz reported.
Tensions between Jews and Arabs in the mixed city have been on the rise for months, spurred by a call last fall from the city’s chief rabbi asking Jews not to rent to non-Jews, specifically Arabs.
Many Arab students attend the college and rent apartments nearby.
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