Shvut Rachel residents call Teitel a loner, denounce his acts

Shvut Rachel representatives yesterday condemned hate crimes allegedly committed by a resident of the West Bank outpost, but called attempts to use the incident to incite against all settlers "ugly and wretched."

The attacks attributed to Florida-born Yaakov (Jack) Teitel are not characteristic of the outpost as a whole, said Shvut Rachel spokesman Shmaya Tiram.

"We're not responsible for a private act," he said. "Our community isn't like this, and we don't educate our children in this manner. We're a happy place."

The 37-year-old Teitel, whom security forces said yesterday confessed to killing two Arabs and involvement in bombing attacks against left-wing professor Ze'ev Sternhell, a family of messianic Jews, a monastery and police, was something of a loner, said Tiram.

"We know Teitel as a quiet person, not involved in community life on a social level," he said.

Shvut Rachel said in a statement that it decried the acts attributed to Teitel.

"They are unacceptable and prohibited acts, and we completely denounce them," the statement said. "In addition, the community is hoping and praying that the suspicions against Teitel turn out to be wrong. We want to emphasize that attempts by left-wingers to take advantage of the situation by inciting against all settlers are ugly and wretched."