Israeli-owned cafe in London vandalized with ‘free Palestine’ graffiti

Owner of Michael’s Brasserie says police are looking into incident, notes there’s nothing Jewish about cafe’s facade

JTA — Unidentified individuals spray-painted the words “free Palestine” on the facade of an Israeli-owned cafe in London.

The incident, which the owner Michael Levi suspects was an antisemitic hate crime, occurred on May 14 at Michael’s Brasserie, the Jewish News of London reported on Tuesday.

Police arrived at the cafe, documented the incident, and are looking into it, Levi told the Jewish News. Levi said that there was nothing Jewish about the cafe’s facade when it was vandalized.

”I can’t really get angry with people who choose this path. I just feel ashamed and hurt, and upset. We are just trying to live our lives doing the best we can … and then this,” he told the newspaper.

The cafe serves Middle Eastern foods popular in Israel and in Arab countries, including shakshuka, shawarma and smoked eggplant.