Syrian Man Smashes Windows of Kosher Restaurant in Amsterdam for Second Time

A Syrian man was arrested on Friday for smashing the windows of a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam—the second time he has done so.

Saleh Ali, 31, was subdued with pepper spray by officers after he used a metal pipe to smash the windows of the HaCarmel kosher restaurant while holding a lighter in the other hand.

As police subdued him, Ali refused to let go of the objects, according to a police statement, which described Ali’s actions as “vandalism.”

The attack came on May 8, the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces in Europe.

The incident was the fifth case of vandalism or intimidation in Holland in two-and-a-half years, according to Hidde van Koningsveld, policy officer at the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, which tracks anti-Semitic incidents in the country. Compared to its neighbors in Western Europe, that figure is very low.

In January, unidentified suspects left a box looking like a homemade bomb on HaCarmel’s doorstep.

In 2017, Ali smashed HaCarmel’s windows “with a wooden club while waving a Palestinian flag. He stole an Israeli flag hanging there. Police officers stood by as he vandalized the place but arrested him when he came out,” reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Ali was convicted of vandalism after 52 days behind bars while awaiting trial, but he was released without further penalty.