Police are investigating after a Jewish-owned business in north London had its windows smashed and showered with red paint overnight in a suspected antisemitic hate crime.
Glass was showered outside the company in Stamford Hill, a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood in Hackney, and images circulating online revealed the pavement was sprayed with anti-Israel graffiti.
The company, a family-owned property investment firm, also had its computers and furniture destroyed during the suspected hate crime at around 2am.
Metropolitan Police officers attended the scene on Thursday morning and interviewed the company’s owners and nearby residents.
Palestine Action later claimed responsibility for the attack amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 massacre, which killed 1,200 people.
The direct action group previously defaced the Universtity of Cambridge’s endowment fund headquarters, as well as the BBC's New Broadcasting House.
Chilling CCTV footage from Thursday morning appears to show a masked vandal wearing an Under Armour cap smashing the front of the building with a hammer, before a fellow masked suspect in a black hoodie used a spray canister to spread red paint.
The pavement outside was marked with the slogan “Drop Elbit” — an apparent reference to Israel-based defence contractor Elbit Systems.
Palestine Action alleged the weapons manufacturer has a subsidiary factory based in a Kent buisness park, the landlord of which is the Stamford Hill business.
The group said: “As part of our commitment to the Palestinian people, we will not allow companies on our doorstep to profit from mass murder.”
However, the Hackney-based firm told The Standard that despite being close to the business park it does not have a contract with Elbit Systems.
A source told The Standard: “It’s really disappointing. We don’t support any acts of violence.”
Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim and a Stamford Hill resident, told The Jewish Chronicle: “This should be treated as (an) antisemitic incident without any doubt. (The owners) are visibly Jewish people; the people who run the business and this business itself have nothing to do with Israel."
A spokesperson for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “There is absolutely no tolerance for antisemitism in our city and the Mayor is clear that those responsible for the criminal damage to two businesses in Stamford Hill will face the full force of the law.”
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: On Thursday, May 29 at 7:23am officers were called to two business premises on Stamford Hill, N16 which had been vandalised.
“Enquiries are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. This incident is being treated as racially aggravated criminal damage.
“We understand the concern this may cause members of the Jewish community. Officers are working with community leaders and patrols have increased across the local area.
“Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote CAD 1397/29MAY.
“You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
In January, the Community Security Trust revealed that in the 12 months after October 7, 2023, there were 5,583 antisemitic incidents in the UK — including threats, assaults and desecration — a 204 per cent year-on-year increase.
The CST said they were “appalled by the disgraceful damage to a Jewish-owned business in Stamford Hill”, adding: “This will cause immense alarm in the Jewish community and we urge anyone who has any information to contact the police or CST with more information.”
Israel's military campaign in has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-backed health officials.
