Jerusalem, November 24, 2008 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the sentencing of eight Israeli youths who were part of a "neo-Nazi" cell behind a rash of xenophobic assaults on minorities and anti-Semitic attacks across Israel.

Members of the so-called "Petah Tikva Gang" were primarily immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union, and the judge noted that most came from "dysfunctional backgrounds."  They were sentenced in Tel Aviv District Court to prison terms ranging from 15 months to more than seven years.

ADL's Israel Office issued the following statement:

These youths, who upheld and venerated the Nazis and Hitler, embraced an ideology and behavior that is anathema to the Jewish State.  Their conviction and sentencing sends a strong message that anti-Semitism and racist violence has no place in Israel.