In November, a bilingual Arabic and Hebrew school in Jerusalem was set on fire and vandalized by a group of right-wing hard-liners. The arsonists scrawled slogans such as "Death to Arabs," "You can't coexist with cancer," and "Enough with assimilation" on the walls of a classroom in the school, which strives to set an example for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.
In the weeks that followed, Israeli authorities detained 21 suspects connected to the Lehava extremist group on charges of incitement to hatred. Three youths, two 18-year-olds and a 20-year-old, have been charged with carrying out the act. Now, after remarks by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, it appears that the government is considering listing Lehava as a terrorist group and banning it.
"I have turned to legal elements in the defense establishment and in the Shin Bet with a request to examine the possibility of defining Lehava as an illegal association," Yaalon said Monday, referring to Israel's top internal security agency. "I did this because we cannot as a country allow racist phenomenon to endanger in a substantial way the fabric of life here."
Lehava is the Hebrew acronym for the "Prevention of Assimilation in the Holy Land." It is also a pun on the Hebrew word for "flame." The group gained notoriety in August when it picketed and attempted to disrupt the wedding of a Jewish woman, who had converted to Islam, and an Arab man in central Israel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to halt strikes on the Ukrainian capital...
Microsoft signed a contract worth more than $100m with the Israeli government in 2024, according to...
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned international airlines and insurers on Tuesday that Russian airspace is becoming “completely...
