Within the span of a few days, windows were shattered at two Jewish food establishments in Oakland’s Grand Lake district.
Police are investigating the broken windows — one at Holy Land Restaurant reported on April 16, the other at Grand Bakery two days later — as vandalism, according to Lt. Kenneth Parris, the Jewish community liaison officer with the Oakland Police Department. As of press time April 21, there were no leads and no one had claimed responsibility for the acts, Parris said.
He added that there was no immediate evidence indicating the vandalism was motivated by hate. Yet given its timing, there is some cause for concern, he said.
“Because of the proximity of Yom Ha’Atzmaut [Israel Independence Day], and the fact that Adolf Hitler’s birthday and Israeli Independence Day came together this year, I am concerned about the potential that it might be anti-Semitic activity,” Parris said. “Two of the three Jewish businesses in the Grand Lake area were hit, and there were no reports of anybody else having this experience.”
Added Nancy Appel, associate director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Central Pacific Region: “We won’t know until the investigation is complete, but a bias motivation should at least be considered and investigated.”
Grand Bakery employees discovered the broken window at around 1 a.m. April 18 and alerted owner Bob Jaffe. While he informed the ADL about the incident, Jaffe said he did not know if malevolence was behind it.
“I could make assumptions and inferences,” Jaffe said, “but no rock was left. Nothing was inside. I received no notes, e-mails or threatening phone calls. Mine could have been an accident.”
He added, “Customers [of a nearby establishment] stand around on Saturday night. Someone could have put their elbow through the window,” which he noted was old.
At Holy Land Restaurant, one of the two front windows was hit by a large rock, said owner Miri Levy. A piece of plywood has temporarily replaced the window.
“I just didn’t expect this to happen,” Levy said. “We’ve had letters and notes in the past, but nothing scary so far. We’re not involved in politics. We’re trying to make a living serving the community.”
At the request of Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts, Parris followed up with the vandalized establishments and checked with nearby Oakland Kosher Foods, which was not hit. Batts also ordered additional units to patrol the area and offered to meet with business owners to discuss any concerns.
“Our main focus is ensuring there isn’t a repeat of these incidents,” Parris said. “We want to reassure the community that we’re here to respond to their needs and working to prevent these events from happening in the future.”