Indianapolis Woman Arrested After Allegedly Crashing Car into School Mistakenly Believed to be Tied to Israel

An Indianapolis woman was arrested on Friday after allegedly crashing her car into a school she mistakenly believed was a Jewish school with ties to Israel. Ruba Almaghtheh, 34, was arrested on a charge of criminal recklessness after allegedly telling officers she purposefully crashed into the building, which displayed a sign out front reading, “Israelite School of UPK.”

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Almaghtheh told officers she had been “watching the news and couldn’t breathe anymore,” and targeted the building because she thought it was an “Israel school.” One adult as well as four children — ages 7 months, 1, 2 and 3 years — were inside the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge at the time of late Friday’s crash, but no one was injured.

Almaghtheh was arrested at the scene and is currently being held at the Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of criminal recklessness in Friday’s crash. The incident is believed to have been motivated by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has been dominating news coverage in recent weeks.

The Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge is a religious school that teaches the Hebrew language and culture. The school’s director, Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, said in a statement that he was “shocked and saddened” by the incident, and that the school is “committed to the safety and security of our students and staff.”

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident. No further information has been released at this time.