Mayor outraged as attackers vandalize Herzliya ice cream shop, reportedly for opening on Shabbat

Herzliya’s mayor reacts with outrage after two assailants wearing masks vandalized an ice cream shop in Herzliya on Thursday, breaking its front window.

Hebrew media report that the shop, a branch of the Othello gelateria chain, was targeted because it is open on Shabbat.

Apparent surveillance video of the incident, bearing a timestamp of Thursday night around 9 p.m., shows two people wearing hooded sweatshirts with their faces covered approaching the shop and hitting its window until shards of glass fly.

עיריית הרצליה עומדת לצידם של בעלי גלידת אותלו ומביעה שאט נפש מהמעשים הנפשעים של העבריינים שביצעו את מעשי הוונדליזם החמורים כשניפצו את זגוגיות הגלידריה האהובה.

הפורעים פגעו בבעלי אותלו ובכל תושבות ותושבי העיר, שמאמינים בערך של ״חיה ותן לחיות״ ושרוצים להמשיך לגור במקום שבו איש… pic.twitter.com/czjmP4u366

— Yariv Fisher – יריב פישר (@FisherYariv) December 20, 2025

Herzliya Mayor Yariv Fisher calls the vandalism an attack on the city’s values and calls on residents to support the shop.

“The Herzliya municipality stands with the owners of Othello ice cream and expresses disgust over the criminal acts of those who committed the severe acts of vandalism when they broke the beloved ice cream shop’s window,” he posts on X.

“The rioters hurt the owners of Othello and all of the city’s residents, who believe in the value of ‘live and let live’ and want to keep living in a place where everyone can live according to their beliefs.”

He writes that those values include “freedom of religion and freedom from religion.”