Los Angeles police have been investigating the vandalism of six businesses in the Pico Robertson area since Monday night as a possible hate crime.
Alan Cohen, owner of Got Kosher?, said most of the businesses destroyed were Jewish-owned. Bakery.
On Tuesday morning, a staff member called to say the glass in the storefront had been broken.
“I came right away, saw it, called the police, and got into the glass,” he said.
“I was later told that the same thing happened at five other stores on the same block,” Cohen said. “Someone is systematically targeting businesses like ours.
“When it happens in this particular political and particular bloc of the international landscape, it is clear that there is a connection,” he said.
The vandalism comes as authorities report a spike in anti-Semitic incidents across the country since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s military response. . Last November, Los Angeles police began investigating a protest at the home of the president of a pro-Israel lobby group in Brentwood. Protesters ignited smoke devices in the street and sprinkled fake blood on the grounds.
The California Anti-Defamation League released a statement regarding the incident, saying it is monitoring the situation.
Police arrived at the scene around 9:20 a.m. Tuesday, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman David Cuellar said.
“Officers found six to seven businesses destroyed and this incident is being investigated as a hate crime,” Cuellar said. Most of those businesses were owned by Jews.
Despite the rumors, there was no evidence of a shooting, Cuellar said. One building was robbed and others were vandalized with broken glass and graffiti.
Cuellar said officers suspect the windows may have been broken with a golf club or similar-shaped object.
Cohen said the suspect was seen on a security camera at another business, but could not be identified from the photos.
“Like any other Jewish business owner, I don’t feel safe. We are being targeted, and we have been being targeted since Abraham, to be exact,” Cohen said. said.
“We are being targeted and we need to stand up,” he said. “The Holocaust happened because people did not speak up.”
