Fear of Abduction in Case of American Student Missing from Jerusalem Forest Hike

The belief that an American religious student who went missing during a hike in the Jerusalem forest on Friday was the victim of a nationalistic crime is growing. 23-year old Aharon Sofer became separated from the friend he was hiking with and was not seen again. Police said the search has been ongoing in “all directions” from the spot at which Sofer was last seen. That spot is not far from where Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian teenager, was burned to death by a Jewish gang in retaliation for the kidnap/murders of three Jewish teens by Hamas members. Some officials believe the Sofer disappearance might be tied to the continuing cycle of violence that began with the triple-kidnapping.