A vandal brazenly tore mezuzahs from a Chabad Lubavitch synagogue and a kosher restaurant in West Hampstead in London on early Saturday morning. CCTV footage captured the suspect, wearing a hooded jacket and holding a drink, as he ripped the mezuzah from Moss and Maple kosher restaurant on Fairfax Road just before 7 a.m. Moments later, he targeted the synagogue, forcefully removing its mezuzah before walking away. The shocking incidents were recorded by Chabad’s security cameras and the restaurant’s internal surveillance system. Staff at Moss and Maple discovered the damage the next morning and alerted owner Ory Abraham. The 33-year-old Israeli-born chef, who has lived in the UK for 12 years, was shaken by the attack. “It makes me want to go back to Israel,” he told The Jewish Chronicle . “How can I feel safe here?” Abraham fears the attack could escalate. “Today it was a mezuzah – tomorrow, it could be a rock through the window,” he said. Concerned for his business, which opened just two months ago, he vowed to stay on-site for protection and replace the mezuzah immediately. He believes the act was a deliberate hate crime. “The Nazis did this during the Holocaust—this is the same. It’s antisemitic, plain and simple.” The Metropolitan Police confirmed an investigation is underway, stating, “Officers were called at 11:00 a.m. on March 22 following reports of vandalism at a restaurant and synagogue. inquiries are ongoing.”
