Rabbi Killed as Crime Surge Continues

This week, six Israeli citizens were killed in two vehicle bombing attacks in what police have described as criminal acts, prompting the country to declare a national emergency. Today, The Times of Israel reports that three more people—including a local rabbi—were killed within the span of an hour in a wave of shootings and stabbings. The victims were 75-year-old Rabbi Amos Guetta, a 24-year-old bus driver, and an unidentified 21-year-old man from northern Israel.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police in his ministerial role, mourned the death of the rabbi but declined to comment on the two Arab citizens killed the same hour.

Police launched investigations into all three killings. So far, they have only arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of Guetta.

The suspected perpetrator is a man in his 20s who formerly studied under the rabbi, law enforcement said. Officers launched a manhunt and nabbed him in downtown Netanya, after he allegedly fled the scene of the stabbing.

“The murderer stabbed the rabbi while he was lying helpless in his bed. He lived in a kolel. The stabber screamed and went berserk, pulled out a kitchen knife and stabbed the rabbi in the stomach,” a witness told Channel 12 news, adding that he also tried to stab Guetta’s assistant, who managed to escape.

Around the same time this morning, Suwaed was shot in a parking lot in the northern Arab city of Shfaram. About 30 minutes after Suwaed was killed, the 21-year-old victim was shot in Yagur, south of Haifa. Police believe the killing was retaliation for the death of one of the previous day’s victims, who was identified as mobster Rabia Abu Haikal of the Nasser Hariri crime gang.

The Abraham Initiatives reports that 147 Arab Israelis have been murdered so far this year. In comparison, 2025 was among the deadliest years on record, with 252 reported killings.

The Fellowship and our supporters pray for the Guetta family and for the families of the victims during this difficult time. We also pray for justice and for an end to the senseless violence and criminal activity that has claimed so many lives.