Arrest made in attack on Messianic family

Israeli authorities lifted their gag order on the press today (November 1) revealing that a suspect in the attack on Amiel Ortiz in March 2008 has finally been apprehended and is being held in a Shin Bet facility in central Israel.

Amiel Ortiz, the teenage son of a Messianic pastor David Ortiz, was seriously injured when a bomb delivered to the family's home in the Jewish settlement town of Ariel went off in his hands on March 20, 2008. The explosive was reportedly delivered in one of the gift baskets Jews exchange on the Purim holiday. The family was targeted apparently because they are Messianic Jews.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Yaakov "Jack" Teitel, 37, was arrested on October 7 and is alleged to behind a number of other deadly terror shootings and bombings spanning over a decade, in which two Palestinians were killed and Israel Prize Laureate Prof. Ze'ev Sternhell was injured. Officials said that Teitel was in midst of planning additional attacks but would not specify against whom.

Leah Ortiz, Ami’s mother, told the Jerusalem Post, “We are relieved that a suspect has been arrested for the attempted murder which took place in our home a year and a half ago. As a family the past year and a half has been a struggle in every way.”