Who is Ruba Awni Almaghtheh? Palestinian woman slams car into building after mistaking it for Jewish structure
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA: A Palestinian woman named Ruba Awni Almaghtheh, 34, slammed her car into a building mistaking it to be owned by a Jewish congregation.
Almaghtheh admitted to the police that she “did do it” on purpose after watching the coverage of the Israel-Hamas War that started after the Palestinian militant group’s offensive in southern Israel on October 7.
The 34-year-old rammed her car into a building owned by a group of Black Hebrew Israelites, which is purportedly antisemitic in philosophy, in Indianapolis, per Daily Express.
Why did Ruba Awni Almaghtheh mistake the building for a Jewish property?
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Indianapolis (JCRCI) issued a statement saying Almaghtheh’s mistake likely occurred because of the presence of words like "Hebrew Israelites" at the front.
Moreover, Almaghtheh might have mistaken the building to be a property of Israel supporters because of the presence of the star of David.
Though the building is occupied and regularly used, no one was in the building at the time of the crash.
The building is the site for the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge. The Anti-Defamation League classified the sect as "extreme and antisemitic."
Allegedly, Almaghtheh later told an officer of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department that she thought the building to be an “Israel school.”
Moreover, she reportedly also told the police that she intentionally drove onto the buidling, saying, "Yes, I did do it on purpose."
The woman was soon taken into custody and charged with criminal recklessness.
Rising incidence of antisemitic attacks in the US
According to FBI data, the reported hate crimes against Jewish people or institutions in the US are very high, with 2022 recording 1,124 cases. This was the highest since 1993.
FBI Director Christopher Wray remarked upon the “historic levels” of antisemitism saying, "This is a threat that is reaching, in some way, sort of historic levels."
On October 31, Wray told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, "The Jewish community is targeted by terrorists really across the spectrum.”
Though they make up just 2.4% of the US population, the Jews are at the receiving end of most religion-based hate crimes, per BBC.
Wray continued, "This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance," before adding, "We shouldn't stop conducting our daily lives - going to schools, houses of worship, and so forth - but we should be vigilant."
Melanie Pell, the chief field operations officer of the American Jewish Committee, recently opened up about the rise in antisemitic activities in the US and said, "We know invariably when tensions flare in other parts of the world, the reverberations are felt everywhere, including in our homes and our communities."
She added, "So we're really bracing for a very vulnerable time and thankfully, law enforcement is paying very close attention and is in constant coordination and collaboration with the Jewish community," per ABC News.