Man arrested for torching rabbi's home

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Matthew Karelefsky is seen in a photo from his Facebook page.

A Pennsylvania man with a tattoo reminding himself to kill a rabbi has been arrested for allegedly setting the Brooklyn rabbi's home on fire.

The arson took place on Thursday.  On Sunday, police arrested 41-year-old Matthew Karelefsky.  He faces two counts of attempted murder and one count of arson in connection with the fire that left more than a dozen people hurt and damaged two other buildings in the Midwood neighborhood.

Police say that Karelefsky had a tattoo on his forearm stating "Never let go of the HATRED" and "KILL" the rabbi.

The rabbi in question is Rabbi Jonathan Max.

The New York Post reported that in social media posts from 2018, a person named Matthew Karelefsky claims that the rabbi molested him.  The rabbi denied the claim to the paper.

Karelefsky was being held without bail.

The blaze erupted about 4 a.m. inside a car outside a house on E. 17th St. near Avenue N in Midwood about and quickly spread to three addresses.