NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Police are searching for an antisemitic hate crime suspect who they say burned down Star of David banners outside a Jewish and Japanese fusion restaurant in the heart of Williamsburg.
The NYPD released video Friday showing a man lighting the fire outside the Shalom Japan restaurant at Rodney and South 4th streets on the morning of Nov. 18.
The man walked up to the restaurant around 4 a.m. and ignited two window tarps that featured images of the Star of David, police said.
No one was injured in the fire, and there was no structural damage to the building, according to cops.
The suspect was last seen walking down Rodney Street toward South 5th Street.
The NYPD's Hate Crime Task force is investigating the incident as arson motivated by antisemitism.
Multiple banners were burned at the restaurant, police said.NYPD
The assault comes amid a citywide spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes seen over the past two months during the Israel-Hamas war. The number of reported antisemitic crimes was up 32% in November, compared to November 2022, the latest NYPD crime stats show.
The NYPD also said Friday that they were searching for a man who beat and robbed a Jewish man in Crown Heights on the first night of Hanukkah Thursday in an attack that's being investigated as a hate crime.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
