A Tarrant County jury is deciding whether Raunaq Alam is guilty of vandalizing a church in Euless — and if he is, whether he committed an antisemitic hate crime, too.

Alam was arrested for allegedly spray painting “F*** Israel” and putting pro-Palestinian stickers on a church in Euless. He faces up to 10 years in prison for criminal mischief damaging a church, with a hate crime accusation that makes the charge more severe.

The trial started Monday, bringing debate over hundreds of years of world history into a Tarrant County courtroom.

Alam’s attorney, Adwoa Asante, argued he is a pro-Palestinian activist who was condemning the actions of a foreign government, not attacking Jewish people. The church was flying an Israeli flag at the time of the vandalism.

"Raunaq is here because the go

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