Two Arab cemeteries were vandalized, one Arab Christian and the one Arab Muslim. These radical Jews obviously make little distinction between religions and will persecute Arabs regardless of faith.
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Less than a week after the arson of a mosque in northern Israel, dozens of Christian and Muslim graves were vandalized in an Arab section of the Israeli city of Jaffa.
More than 100 graves were vandalized in the Muslim cemetery of al-Kazakhana and at a nearby Christian cemetery in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, according to residents and a CNN producer who visited the locations.
Some of the graves were spray painted with graffiti while others were smashed.
Residents say the vandalism took place Friday evening as the Yom Kippur holiday was beginning in Israel, but police suggested it might have taken place a day or two prior.
Among the words spray-painted in Hebrew on the gravestones were "price tag" and "death to all Arabs."
"Price tag" is a term frequently used by radical Israeli settlers to denote reprisal attacks against Palestinians in response to moves by the Israeli government to evacuate illegal West Bank outposts, or as retribution for attacks by Palestinians.
Local residents told CNN that police who arrived at the scene on Saturday morning tried to cover up the graffiti using white paint. The police also asked locals to clean up the graffiti.
"This is bad, this very, very bad. This is all because of the settlers that moved into the neighborhood. When they did this, the writing was on the wall," Jaffa resident Kamel Satal told CNN.
He was referring to the opening in 2009, just blocks away in the predominantly Arab neighborhood, of a Hesder Yeshiva, a religious school for young men which traditionally combines Torah studies with military service.
"If they did what they did in Zangaria in Jaffa, there would be big, big problems," he added, referring to the mosque that was severely damaged in an suspected arson attack in the Israeli Bedouin village of Tuba Zangaria in northern Israel on Monday. An 18-year-old Jewish Israeli was arrested in connection with the arson.
Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said police were investigating the vandalism at the cemeteries.
Speaking to the Palestinian Authority run WAFA news agency, Ibrahim Sarsour, an Arab Israeli lawmaker, condemned the vandalism.
"The Israeli government was not making any effort to stop these racist attacks against Palestinians," Sarsour said. "Rather, it provides extremists protection."
According to Israeli police, reprisals have increased in the past year, prompting them to create a special investigative unit.
In the past year, four West Bank mosques have been set ablaze. The United Nations has reported a measurable spike in violence against Palestinian property in 2011.
On Wednesday, a shrine holy to Jews was desecrated in the West Bank.
Jewish worshippers arrived at Joseph's Tomb in the city of Nablus to find swastikas and graffiti sprayed on the walls. It is unclear when the graffiti was left there. The site is under Palestinian Authority rule, and Jews visit every couple of months to pray.[CNN]
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OK, Jaffa is not in the West Bank, but the term "price tag" is a term used by radical Israeli settlers. Also the story itself made the connection to four arson attacks on mosques in the West Bank. So I am going to connect this story to a story that occurred two years ago over 40 miles away in the town of Yitzhar in the West Bank. Still, I am only beginning to understand different non-Israeli Palestinian groups, so I have no idea of divisions among radical Israeli settlers. Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro may preach against arson and destroying cemeteries. I do not know.
Just weeks after the arrest of alleged Jewish terrorist, Yaakov Teitel, a West Bank rabbi on Monday released a book giving Jews permission to kill Gentiles who threaten Israel.
Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, wrote in his book "The King's Torah" that even babies and children can be killed if they pose a threat to the nation.
Shapiro based the majority of his teachings on passages quoted from the Bible, to which he adds his opinions and beliefs.
"It is permissable to kill the Righteous among Nations even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation," he wrote, adding: "If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments - because we care about the commandments - there is nothing wrong with the murder."
Several prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Yithak Ginzburg and Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, have recommended the book to their students and followers.[haaeretz]
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