Safed residents charged with rioting, incitement
Indictment filed against men aged 18, 20 for involvement in recent clashes with Arab students in Safed. Two charged with hurling stones at houses, firing in the air
Two Safed residents were charged with rioting, incitement to violence and possession of weapons following clashes between city residents and a group of Arab students which broke out 10 days ago.
According to the indictment, which was filed with the Nazareth Magistrate's Court, the two men, aged 18 and 20, shouted "death to Arabs" and chanted "A Jew is a soul, an Arab a son of a bitch."
The two are accused of throwing stones at houses of Arabs.
One of the defendants, a Border Guard officer, is also accused of firing in the air during the riots.
The two were arrested last week together with a 16-year-old suspect. The teen, who linked himself to the events, was released for 15 days in house arrest in Jerusalem.
"The place looked like after a pogrom," a Safed resident said after the riots.
"They yelled, 'Death to Arabs,' and the others yelled, 'Death to Jews.' Then the fight broke out," he said.
No injuries were reported, but property was damaged.
The incident occurred several days after Safed rabbis signed a proclamation calling on home-owners to avoid renting or selling apartments to Arab students, and to shun those who do.
However, police said the two events were not linked. "From our point of view, the background for the incident is thuggery," Superintendent Gadi Ron said. "We will continue to investigate until we get to the bottom of it."
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