Police seize ISIS flag, other jihad material in home of Israeli teacher

A 24-year-old suspect from Kfar Kara, in the Wadi Ara region of central Israel, is being questioned by police.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MARCH 13, 2016 18:11
Jihad related items police seized on Septmeber 29, 2014 (photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
Jihad related items police seized on Septmeber 29, 2014
(photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
A police search of a home in Kfar Kara belonging to a 24-year-old teacher suspected of association with a terror organization resulted in the seizure of computers, other electronic devices, a flag of the Islamic State and a great deal of literature on the subject of jihad.
The teacher from Kfar Kara, in the Wadi Ara region of central Israel, was taken to the police station in Iron for questioning. The suspect admitted that he brought the materials back to Israel from Jordan where he was studying. Police said the investigation was ongoing.  The Hadera Magistrates Court remanded the suspect in custody until Wednesday.
Israel officially banned the Islamic State and anyone associating with it at the beginning of September. The decree outlawed meetings of any kind between Islamic State members and named it an illegal organization. 
Last week, the Haifa Magistrate's Court convicted Umm al-Fahm resident Ahmed Shurbaji, 23, of illegally traveling to Syria to take part in military drills after he admitted to training with Islamic State terrorists.
Shurjabi left Israel for Turkey in January after he and two friends decided to offer their help to Syrian rebels fighting the army of President Bashar Assad. From Turkey they traveled to Syria, joining a rebel force that called itself Jeish Muhammad (The Army of Muhammad).
Mossad chief Efraim Halevy warned this month that Israel should be concerned with the possibility that its own citizens will potentially volunteer to join the Islamic State terrorist group.
Speaking during an interview with Army Radio, Halevy said Israeli-Arabs volunteering for the group pose a greater threat than the possibility of the organization threatening Israel's borders.
"There are signs of sympathy for the Islamic State among Israeli citizens," Halevy told Army Radio. "When a backdrop of sympathy exists, there are usually some who cross over to wider action."
He said a similar process "occurred in western Europe and could already be happening here."