A kosher Miami restaurant was vandalized last Sunday with pro-Palestinian graffiti, the Miami Police Department and Holy Bagels & Pizzeria said.
The restaurant and a flag had been vandalized with “antisemitic graffiti,” the police said in a statement last Monday. The police asked the public to help identify the suspect, whose image they showed.
“As a society, we must unequivocally reject and not tolerate hate crimes in any form,” Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said in a statement. “Discrimination, violence, and prejudice have no place in our communities, and it is essential that we stand against such acts to create a safer and more inclusive community.”
The phrases “Free Palestine’ and “stop genocide” had been spray painted on the windows, the restaurant said last Monday on Instagram. A half-American, half-Israeli flag was also spray-painted with the slogan “free Palestine,” it said.
“This is what they do,” Holy Bagels & Pizzeria the restaurant said. “They hurt and destroy and want us to cover in fear. But we are strong and united, and only love will destroy their hate. We will not back down, [and] we stand forever united with Israel.”
Federal Judge Roy Altman, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Kava came to the restaurant on Tuesday to help clean the graffiti.
No tolerance for hate in Miami
“Hate speech, vandalism, and hostility will never be tolerated,” she said Tuesday on social media. “We will always support these small businesses as they face antisemitism.”
On Monday, Kava said on X she was horrified to hear about vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses and asked the Miami-Dade Police Department to help the Miami Police Department in the investigation.
The restaurant said it was thankful for the unity expressed by the police, politicians, and community members.
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“We were in awe from the support everyone came to show,” it said. “Huge thank you to everyone that came out to help clean up the vandalism.”
On Wednesday, Holy Bagels & Pizzeria said on Instagram it had displayed more Israeli and American flags.
The incident was the fourth time that the Jewish owner’s shops had been targeted since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, local 10 News reported. Bagel Time Cafe had been vandalized in December and October, and the suspect Nour Abaido, 24, was arrested, the report said.