US Woman Rams Car Into Building Assuming It’s Jewish School

An Indianapolis woman was arrested for ramming her car into what she thought was a pro-Jewish organisation. 34-year-old Ruba Almaghtheh allegedly crashed into the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge, which is in fact a radical antisemitic school. Indiana Police said that no casualties were reported.

Almaghtheh, who is of Palestinian descent, alleged that she had been watching the news of the Israel-Hamas conflict and “couldn’t breathe anymore”, referring to the attacks on her people. She then confirmed that she purposely rammed into the Israelite School on Friday. Police have arrested her for criminal recklessness, and the FBI has been involved in the matter too. 

Rising incidents of religious hate crimes in the US

On October 14, an Illinois man fatally stabbed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy and wounded the boy’s mother. Later in the month, a Las Vegas man was arrested after federal officials said he left antisemitic voicemails threatening to kill a US senator who called on the Biden administration to assist Israel.

Last week, FBI Director, Christopher Wray stated that the Jewish population in the US are subject to 60% of all religious hate crimes in spite of them making up only 2.4% of the country’s population. The Anti-Defamation League has documented 312 cases of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault during the first two weeks of the war. Nearly five times more than the same time last year.

According to a press release by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), they received 774 complaints of hate crimes since the Israeli airstrikes launched a month ago, stating it as the highest number of complaints.

The 'Backlash Effect'

An analysis of FBI records by the Center of the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University showed an escalation in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim crimes even in the 1990s, during the Israel-Palestine conflicts then. The FBI data also shows double to triple-digit monthly increases in anti-Muslim hate crimes during Israeli military operations in 2004 and 2014.

To tackle the rising number of religious bias crimes against Muslims, Arabs, and Jews, the US Department of Homeland Security stated last month that they would be on alert and keep the country in a "heightened threat environment." 

Suggested Reading: "I Hid Under My Boyfriend's Dead Body": Woman Recounts Hamas Attack