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Last update - 17:50 24/10/2007
J'lem church officials suspect extremist Jews behind arson
By The Associated Press
Tags: fire, Church, Messianic Jews 

A church in central Jerusalem was set afire before dawn Wednesday and suffered extensive damage, police said.

Arsonists, suspected to be extremist Jews, forced their way into the church and set it afire, church officials said Wednesday.

The sanctuary used by four separate congregations, including Baptists, had been burned down in 1982 by an ultranationalist Jewish group and later rebuilt, said a pastor at the church, Charles Kopp.

"We all still need to learn the lessons of tolerance and to accept the
different among us," said Kopp, an American who grew up in Los Angeles. "We don't suspect anyone specific but they were extremists for sure."

Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said no arrests had been made and it was not immediately clear what motive was behind the attack.

The arsonists broke into the building late Tuesday, setting it afire in three different places. The floor was severely charred, windows were broken and several chairs were burned. No holy books were damaged in the fire, said Joseph Broom, the church's business services manager and a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Ben-Ruby had earlier said bibles were damaged.

Jewish neighbors called the fire department and their quick response was what saved the structure, said Kopp, who has been at the church since 1966.

Congregants at the church include international workers, students and Sudanese refugees who recently entered the country from Egypt, Kopp said. One of the congregations is made up of Messianic Jews, who consider themselves Jewish but believe in Jesus.

In response to the attack, the Israeli office of the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate crimes, condemned the attack and called for tolerance.

"The ADL strongly condemned this arson and apparent hate crime," the New-York based organization said. "We urged authorities to do everything in their power to protect all religious sites and see that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice.

The church is located in the leafy, middle-class neighborhood of Rehavia.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish residents of a nearby area have in recent years begun moving into Rehavia and trying to impose their way of life on the
neighborhood.

Relations between religions are generally good in largely Jewish west
Jerusalem, and violent incidents are rare.

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  1.   Fire 10:24  |  NP 24/10/07
  2.   Deny these Jews the right to attending Shule! 10:50  |  Yered Shmuel 24/10/07
  3.   Not good! 11:32  |  Jewish State 24/10/07
  4.   I condemn this at the strongest 11:33  |  dovale 24/10/07
  5.   Direct attack on Christianity 11:37  |  Peter XM 24/10/07
  6.   Messianic Jewish Persecution 11:39  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  7.   Mark, Shekinah, Antony, are u all alright? 11:47  |  mary for jews 24/10/07
  8.   Typical Christian Canard, like Catholic Church in Europe 12:02  |  Haham me Bat Yam 24/10/07
  9.   Jewish State 12:02  |  Nephtaly 24/10/07
  10.   Info 12:13  |  Adam 24/10/07
  11.   Turn the Other Cheek? 12:14  |  Joshua 24/10/07
  12.   The Ultra Orthadox up to their usual tricks again 12:14  |  SJ 24/10/07
  13.   Fundamentalist Jews on the rampage 12:21  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/07
  14.   They don`t suspect anyone in particular so how do they know? 12:33  |  Efox 24/10/07
  15.   re: Chris Linthwaite 12:34  |  Efox 24/10/07
  16.   #8 Adam of Barcelona 12:35  |  Peter XM 24/10/07
  17.   re: SJ 12:36  |  Efox 24/10/07
  18.   re: Peter XM 12:39  |  Efox 24/10/07
  19.   # 5 Sounds more like a Durson comment... 12:43  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  20.   JUST PLAIN WRONG 12:43  |  Brant 24/10/07
  21.   #15 Fox 12:48  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/07
  22.   I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF IT WERE MUSLIMS 12:49  |  Jack 24/10/07
  23.   # 11 Joshua 12:50  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  24.   # 13 Linthwaite 12:56  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  25.   # 16 Peter XM (Durson) 13:01  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  26.   #24 Lynn 13:07  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/07
  27.   Haham #8 and Jack #22--- It was Orthodox Jews! 13:10  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  28.   Brant 13:12  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  29.   TARGETTED BECAUSE THEY PROSELYTIZE 13:16  |  Rajiv 24/10/07
  30.   This Church CONVERTS JEWS to CHRISTIANITY! 13:21  |  Barak 24/10/07
  31.   To Adam of Barcelona 13:21  |  Gazan 24/10/07
  32.   reply to efox #17 it was a female soldier 13:21  |  SJ 24/10/07
  33.   #25 Lynn 13:22  |  Peter XM 24/10/07
  34.   Haham me bat yam #8_ 13:25  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/10/07
  35.   # 26 Linthwaite 13:25  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  36.   #35 Lynn 13:36  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/07
  37.   Mass Accusations 13:38  |  Observer 24/10/07
  38.   #30 Barak 13:44  |  Peter XM 24/10/07
  39.   I am a Jerusalem Jew and I am ashamed that Jews could 13:58  |  Yoram Rabino 24/10/07
  40.   to Efox 14:02  |  Puhi 24/10/07
  41.   The Chief Rabbinate gave permission 14:02  |  Tom 24/10/07
  42.   # 34 Yankele the Huhim from New York. 14:16  |  Haham me Bat Yam 24/10/07
  43.   Arsonists are arsonists with or without kippot 14:24  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 24/10/07
  44.   More Religious Based TERRORISM by Israelis 14:24  |  Paul 24/10/07
  45.   Rajiv and Barak, Radicals, #29-30 14:26  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  46.   BARAK ON CONVERTING JEWS TO CHRISTIANITY 14:28  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/10/07
  47.   Jewish Wahabists 14:28  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  48.   AP or Haaretz 14:29  |  Jackie 24/10/07
  49.   They said "extremists" not "Jewish extremists" 14:30  |  Malachi 24/10/07
  50.   barak #30 - yes, israel should be like saudi arabia 14:31  |  matt 24/10/07
  51.   Haham from Bat Yam, of course they were Jews 14:37  |  Yaakov Sullivan 24/10/07
  52.   Yoram 14:37  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  53.   Yoram, thank you 14:40  |  Anne 24/10/07
  54.   Peter XM 14:40  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  55.   Chris Linthwaite 14:41  |  pesach 24/10/07
  56.   This Church CONVERTS Moslems To CHRISTIANITY 14:50  |  JewishHeart-Barak 24/10/07
  57.   # 36 Linthwaite 14:54  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  58.   Jewish terrorists atrike again 14:54  |  Rami 24/10/07
  59.   pesach, for sharia law in Israel 14:56  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  60.   # 33 Peter XM 14:59  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  61.   #55 Pesach 15:00  |  Chris Linthwaite 24/10/07
  62.   lynn 15:08  |  JewishHeart 24/10/07
  63.   # 31 Gazan 15:08  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  64.   It were Jews too who called the fire department 15:12  |  Edith 24/10/07
  65.   # 2 You are so hard? 15:15  |  Edith 24/10/07
  66.   #5 there is no reason for revenge 15:24  |  Edith 24/10/07
  67.   Jewish Heart 15:43  |  Lynn 24/10/07
  68.   #55 Pesach 15:44  |  Yoel 24/10/07
  69.   This is how Jews treat Christians...reciprocate 15:48  |  American 24/10/07
  70.   barak- let me be free to convert or think however I want 15:50  |  Poopie 24/10/07
  71.   JewishHeart-Barak - Yes, Israel has become like Saudi Arabia 15:53  |  American 24/10/07
  72.   # 69 American 16:02  |  Lynn 24/10/07