A Prague Jewish souvenir shop was vandalized for the third time in a month on Tuesday, with the suspect spray-painting anti-Israel slogans and even urinating on the store.
A man wearing a sombrero was seen spray-painting the store facade early Tuesday morning in security footage posted on Facebook by the Jewish E-Shop. Climbing onto the windowsill, the man wrote “fascists” along its edges and on the glass several times.
“Holocaust 2025” was written in larger letters below the store window, according to photographs the shop shared on social media.
The man appears to be the same vandal who previously defaced the Jewish E-Shop on August 10. After urinating on the storefront, he turned to spray-painting the shop – only halting momentarily to hide from passing cars.
“F***in Nazi,” read the graffiti on the window.
The vandal first appeared on the night of July 31, according to the shop, spraying the words “Free Palestine” and “Benjamin Hitler,” the latter phrase likely being an amalgamation of the names of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Rise of antisemitism since October 7
Jewish Community of Prague chairman Pavel Král said that his organization was concerned about the repeated incidents, which combined the vandalization of private property and had a “clear antisemitic background.”
There has been a rise in such incidents across Europe since the October 7 massacre, said Král, and though the situation in the Czech Republic has been relatively good, it has not been an exception in suffering a trend of increasing hostility toward Jews.
“We are in ongoing cooperation with politicians at all levels, as well as with public authorities and the police,” said Král. “At the same time, we actively support initiatives aimed at countering the most common antisemitic myths and prejudices.”
The Prague police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the serial vandalism incidents.