Indiana woman allegedly crashes 'on purpose' into what she thought was Jewish school: Police Staff, 11/6/2023 A woman in Indiana mistakenly crashed her car into a Jewish school, believing it was a pro-Jewish organization. The school is actually labeled as an extremist and anti-Israel group. The woman, Ruba Almaghtheh, stated that she did it on purpose and referenced her people in Palestine. The incident highlights the rising number of hate crimes against Muslims, Arabs, and Jews in the US. A woman who believed she was crashing her car into a Jewish school has been arrested by police in Indiana.
Ruba Almaghtheh, 34, allegedly crashed her car into the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge in Indianapolis on Friday, mistakenly thinking it was a pro-Jewish organization, police said. Nobody was injured.
The Anti-Defamation League said that the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge is in fact an extremist organization that is anti-Israel. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also designated the organization a hate group.
Almaghtheh allegedly told an officer at the time of her arrest that she had been watching the news and "couldn't breathe anymore," and "referenced her people back in Palestine," according to a statement provided to ABC News by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).
Since Hamas launched its surprise terror attack on Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli officials. And more than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Almaghtheh further stated that she had "passed by a couple times and saw the 'Israel school'," police said, and also told police, "Yes. I did it on purpose."
Almaghtheh was arrested for criminal recklessness. The IMPD said they informed the FBI about the arrest, and the FBI said they are aware and working with the police department.
The Marion County Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
Last month. citing a rising number of domestic hate crimes against Muslims, Arabs and Jews, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that the intensification of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza would keep the United States on a "heightened threat environment in the near-to-medium term."
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel that while Jewish people make up 2.4% of the United States population, they are the targets of nearly 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.
