Unknown assailants strike Israeli restaurant in Munich

Unknown assailants attacked an Israeli restaurant in Munich, Germany overnight, smashing several windows and throwing pyrotechnic devices into the premises, police said.

Germany’s State Security Service, which investigates politically motivated crimes, has taken over the investigation. No one was injured and the perpetrators have not yet been identified, Caliber.Az reports, citing German media.

Authorities and the restaurant’s management believe the attack may have been motivated by antisemitism.

“According to the current state of the investigation, the shop windows were forcibly damaged and pyrotechnic devices were thrown into the restaurant,” police said. The damage to property is estimated at several thousand euros.

The police operations centre received a call shortly after midnight after three loud bangs were heard in Munich’s Maxvorstadt district, a police spokesperson said. A patrol arriving at the scene found that the restaurant’s windows had been smashed in three places.

A restaurant employee said the attack came without warning.

“There were no direct threats,” said Grigori Dratva, the owner’s brother-in-law and an employee at the restaurant, speaking to dpa.

He said his relative has been running the 70-seat restaurant since 2007, adding: “We’ve actually always felt very safe in Munich.”

The restaurant plans to reopen, with the damaged windows temporarily boarded up. “We won’t be intimidated. We’re reopening,” he said.

Dratva added that he suspects the attack may have been politically motivated, although this has not been confirmed.

“We don’t want to speculate or accuse anyone, but we are a clearly visible Israeli restaurant, so that is the obvious assumption,” he said.

By Vafa Guliyeva