WATCH: Manchester Kosher Restaurant Set Ablaze in Suspected Arson
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Police in Manchester, England, are investigating a suspected arson at a kosher restaurant.
Security camera footage shows the kosher Ta’am Restaurant in Bury, 11 miles north of the city of Manchester, being doused with a liquid by two unidentified men before bursting into flames on Friday night, the Manchester Evening News Wednesday. No one was hurt in the incident.
The owners said they believe the attack could be motivated by their Jewish heritage, although police said they have found no evidence that is the case. The restaurant recently moved to Bury from a previous location.
Ta’am kosher restaurant outside Manchester, England. Image by Facebook
The blaze tore through the building, causing an explosion, with the deli quickly filling with smoke. Yet the attack only caused minimal damage, according to the report.
Police say two men smashed a window to get into the deli between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Friday.
“We are keeping an open mind on the possible motivation for this incident but there is no evidence to suggest that it was racially motivated,” Detective Inspector Jonathan Kelly of the local police force told the Standard.
Martine Vaizman, who has co-owned the business with her husband Amos for four years, told The Jewish Chronicle of London that seeing the footage “was the most horrendous feeling – knowing that someone didn’t just wish us ill, but also followed through. I can’t understand who would be capable of doing such a thing.”
She said that she and her husband were not at the restaurant at the time of the fire because it was Shabbat, so they had only found out what happened on Saturday night, when Amos Vaizman turned his phone on.
Martine Vaizman, who was born in Israel, told the Chronicle she and her husband have not received hate mail prior to the incident.
Watch security camera footage here:
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
