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March 17, 2008

Reward offered in search for attacker on Jewish student

PROVIDENCE -- Three organizations today announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction "of those responsible for the March 15 attack on the apartment of an employee of the Brown/RISD Hillel and the Jewish Agency for Israel."

The organizations are the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, Brown/RISD Hillel and the Anti-Defamation League. The announcement was made at a news conference in conjunction with the Providence Police Department.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the 122 Camp St. apartment on the city's East Side early Saturday. The apartment is shared by Josef Knafo, 25, a graduate student from Israel,and his roommates. The Molotov cocktail did not explode but a second liquid-filled bottle landed in the yard outside the building, exploded and burned itself out early Saturday. The incident led to an investigation by several agencies including the FBI.

If somebody were to claim the reward, Deputy Police Chief Paul J. Kennedy said the police department would participate in the decision-making on whether to pay the reward -- in terms of whether the information leads to arrests.

The building is a triple-decker house with one apartment on each floor. One person lives on the ground floor. Three people live in the second-floor apartment, including Knafo, who was the alleged target. One person lives in the third-floor apartment.

The police said today that everyone is living in the house except for Knafo, who has been moved to another residence.

Knafo, who is from Afula, Israel, has been in the United States as an emissary for the Jewish Agency for Israel. The organization sends young people around the world for educational, religious and cultural programs.

Kennedy yesterday said Knafo was in the apartment kitchen when he heard a bang. After looking out the window and seeing fire on the ground, he came upon the unexploded bottle inside his bedroom.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Gregory Smith and Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 6:35 PM | Permalink

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trudy | March 17, 2008 7:39 PM link

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