‘Loaves’ church reopens 20 months after arson attack

The church in northern Israel where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes reopened yesterday, 20 months after an arson attack by Jewish extremists.Two rooms of the church complex in Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee were vandalised and badly damaged in a June 2015 fire.Christian dignitaries and donors attended a ceremony and mass in the Roman Catholic church, with the complex reopened to pilgrims following eight months of renovation work at a cost of around $1mn, of which the state of Israel contributed almost $400,000.Three Jewish extremists were indicted for the attack on the church where Jesus is believed to have fed the multitude by multiplying loaves and fishes, in what was termed a hate crime against Israel’s minority community. The three have yet to be sentenced.