2 dead, 150 injured after bleacher collapse at West Bank synagogue
At least two people were killed and more than 150 injured on Sunday after a bleacher collapsed at an unfinished ultra-Orthodox synagogue in the West Bank, Israeli medics said.
The incident took place in the Givat Zeev settlement during evening prayers, ahead of the Shavuot holiday. Israeli medics said the dead are a 12-year-old boy and a man in his 50s.
Deddi Simhi, head of Israel Fire and Rescue, told Israel's Channel 12 the five-story synagogue "is not finished. It doesn't even have a permit for occupancy, and therefore let alone holding events in it." The chief of Jerusalem's police department said the collapse was caused by "negligence" and expects arrests will be made.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Last month, 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews were killed in a stampede during a religious celebration in northern Israel. The event brought tens of thousands of people to Mount Meron, an area that isn't able to contain such a large crowd.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
US citizens are carrying passports amid ICE fearsThe Explainer ‘You do what you have to do to avoid problems,’ one person told The Guardian
-
All roads to Ukraine-Russia peace run through DonetskIN THE SPOTLIGHT Volodymyr Zelenskyy is floating a major concession on one of the thorniest issues in the complex negotiations between Ukraine and Russia
-
Why is Trump killing off clean energy?Today's Big Question President halts offshore wind farm construction
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
