Tagged arson

Homeless man pleads guilty to burning down Minnesota synagogue
September 26, 2019 / Sam Sokol, JTA

A homeless man pleaded guilty to burning down a historic Minnesota synagogue earlier this month. Prosecutors have indicated that they intend to ask for probation for Matthew James Amiot, 36, The Associated Press reported. He could have faced a maximum of three years in prison. Amiot pleaded guilty to… Read more »

Top US firefighters ‘dropped everything’ to help Israel battle the blazes

An Israeli firefighter helps acquaint his American colleagues with Israeli equipment at the fire station in Herzliya, Nov. 27, 2016. (Courtesy of the Emergency Volunteers Project)
November 28, 2016 / Andrew Tobin, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) – Call them Israel’s American volunteer fire brigade. Dozens of firefighters from across the United States put their lives on hold – leaving behind jobs and families – to help subdue the wildfires that swept Israel over the past week. While they all share a love of… Read more »

Father of Jewish arson suspect: My son is innocent, was tortured

A house in the West Bank village of Duma, near Nablus, where three members of a Palestinian family, including an infant, were killed, July 31, 2015. (Flash90)
December 24, 2015 / Ben Sales, JTA

TZUFIM, West Bank (JTA) — The father of Elisha Odess, the American-Israeli Jewish teen held by Israel’s internal security service, says his son is innocent and that any confession he might have made in connection with a July arson attack that killed three Palestinians was elicited through torture. “We… Read more »