Jerusalem Man Indicted for Safed Lottery Booth Arson and Car Vandalism
A 40-year-old Jerusalem resident was indicted for setting fire to a lottery booth and vandalizing cars in Safed on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, citing a stolen speaker as his motive.
A 40-year-old Jerusalem resident was indicted on Wednesday for setting fire to cardboard at a lottery booth and damaging parked vehicles in Safed on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. The suspect, Shlomo Bluka, was arrested at the scene following a swift response by Northern District police officers.
According to the indictments filed at the Kiryat Shmona Magistrate Court, the incident took place late on the holiday eve. Police received a report around 11:15 PM regarding a fire at a lottery stand on HaAliya Street in Safed and vandalism targeting nearby cars. Officers arriving at the location apprehended the suspect immediately.
During his arrest, when asked for a motive, the suspect told officers: "They stole a speaker from me worth 1,500 shekels. It is measure for measure. My heart hurts—let theirs hurt too." When an officer pointed out that he was harming innocent people, he replied: "Oh, and they steal from someone they don't know?"
The charges detail that the suspect ignited cardboard pieces and threw them at the entrance of the lottery booth. He then vandalized four parked cars, smashing the windows of several Hyundai, Skoda, and Subaru vehicles using stones and blunt objects. In addition to the Rosh Hashanah night events, the indictments also include a separate incident from July, in which he scratched two vehicles with a sharp object in the parking lot of the Rimonim Hotel in Safed.
