A Jewish-owned business in Stamford Hill, North London, was violently vandalized overnight in what police are treating as a racially motivated hate crime.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, the attackers smashed windows, destroyed computers and property inside the store, and spray-painted red graffiti outside reading “Drop Elbit” — a reference to Israel’s defense contractor, Elbit Systems.
Surveillance footage shows two masked vandals approaching the business just after midnight. One smashes the storefront with what appears to be an axe, while the second sprays red paint from a canister labeled “Palestine.” The business sits just 150 meters from the nearest synagogue.
The owners are members of the local Orthodox community and have no ties to Elbit or the Israeli government, according to the neighborhood rabbi. “We’re just trying to live in peace,” he told the Chronicle. “But peace isn’t what we’re getting.”
