Church of the Multiplication
Church of the MultiplicationFlash 90

The Supreme Court tacked on another 1.5 years to the sentence of Eyal Reuvaini for his role in torching a world famous church.

Eyal Reuvaini had received a 4-year sentence for burning down the Church of the Multiplication near Tiberias back in 2015. The prosecution has appealed the term to the Supreme Court under the grounds that Reuven's punishment was insufficiently severe.

Reuveni was convicted of aggravated arson, destruction of property out of hostility to the public, conspiracy to commit other acts, and using a vehicle to commit a crime.

Reuvaini's attorney Itamar Ben Gvir responded by slamming justices Yosef Elron and David Mintz, who voted to extend the sentence, for what he said was their double standard in dealing with Jewish hate crimes.

"It is regrettable that judges Mintz and Elron sentenced the defendant to sentences they did not decree against Arabs who set fire to synagogues, yeshivas, or even threw Molotov cocktails at policemen," he said.

Ben-Gvir recalled that, "Not long ago, judges Elron and Mintz imposed a one-and-a-half year sentence for every incident of a terrorist who threw stones at policemen and soldiers. It is very unfortunate that there is discrimination in punishment between Jews and Arabs, and even more so that it is regrettable that the court did not treat Reuveni, as is the case with any defendant, and if he did, he should have been acquitted in his law and certainly should not have increased his sentence "