Suspicion of an anti-Semitic motive in Munich: an Israeli restaurant was vandalized during the night

The wave of anti-Semitism in Europe is coming to Munich: The German police are investigating a suspected anti-Semitic attack, after the Israeli “Eclipse” restaurant in the Maxborstadt neighborhood of the city was vandalized on the night between Thursday and Friday – as reported in the country’s media. The incident ended with no casualties, but caused property damage estimated at thousands of euros.

According to reports on German public television BER, the incident began around 12:45 a.m., when reports were received at the police headquarters of three loud explosions heard in the area of ​​the restaurant. Troops who arrived at the scene discovered that the shop windows of the restaurant had been smashed, and two holes with a diameter of about a square meter each had been opened in the glass.

According to a preliminary investigation, the attackers used physical force to damage the windows and threw pyrotechnic objects into the space of the restaurant, which was closed at the time. Despite the intensity of the explosions, no significant damage was caused to the interior of the building.

While in the first hours the background was actually unclear, now the German police assume that it is a hate crime. “What is special in this case is its political sensitivity, since the owners of the restaurant are members of the Jewish religion,” said police spokesman Tobias Shank.

The State Security Unit and the Extreme Crimes Department joined the investigation in an attempt to locate the suspects who fled the scene. It should be noted that since October 7, 2023, there has been one incident in the past, in which a “Free Palestine” sticker was pasted on the windows of the place.

Grigory Darteva, brother-in-law of the owner of the place and an employee of the restaurant, told the dpa news agency that no concrete threats had been received before the attack. “We have always felt very safe in Munich,” said Dartaba, adding that although they do not want to accuse anyone without proof, the suspicion of a political motive is warranted given that they are a prominent Israeli restaurant.

Despite the damage and shock, the restaurant’s management decided not to give in to the attempt at intimidation. “We will open again today as well,” Dartaba announced on Friday morning. “We cannot be intimidated. We will open up.” The restaurant’s windows were temporarily covered, and repairs are expected to begin soon to return the place to full operation.

Professor Guy Katz, one of the leaders of the fight against anti-Semitism in Munich, told N12: “Tonight the Israeli restaurant Eclipse was attacked. A place that does nothing but bring people together. With falafel. With hummus. What is called life itself. The attackers were cowards, but their attack was not only directed against a restaurant, but against what it represents. This restaurant is not a political target, so when you vandalize it, it is anti-Semitism par excellence. This is precisely why we We will stand there together today at 17:00 and show solidarity.”

Professor Katz came out in recent days with a campaign of pink stickers against anti-Semitism that read: “Anti-Semitism – not with me”. Since the start of the campaign, 20,000 stickers have already been ordered and businesses throughout the city are putting them on.