Police have launched a manhunt after two arson attacks at kosher restaurants in Manchester in four days.
No-one was injured in the incidents which both took place in the early hours of the morning, but officers believe them to be linked and confirmed on Tuesday they are treating them as antisemitic hate crimes.
A call for information was issued after the second incident at 3:30am on Tuesday when attackers forced open a window at JS Restaurant in the heavily-Jewish north Manchester suburb of Prestwich before pouring accelerant inside and lighting it. The fire service put the blaze out before any serious damage could be done to the property.
It came after the nearby Taam Restaurant was targeted shortly before midnight on 2 June when two offenders threw a milk carton filled with petrol and a lit rag at the premises. The makeshift petrol container failed to ignite before a large stone was thrown at the front window, causing it to smash.
Amanda Bomsztyk, CST Northern Regional Director stated “CST thanks the Police and fire service for their response to these incidents. We ask our community to be calm, vigilant and to report suspicious, criminal or antisemitic behaviour to GMP and CST.”
Manchester’s Jewish Representative Council said: “The community will be aware of the recent arson attack, and a previous attempted arson attack, on local kosher restaurants. We have spoken with senior officers at GMP who are treating this with the utmost seriousness and the community can be assured that a full and thorough investigation will take place. This includes considering it a hate crime based on the perspective of those affected. However, we would stress the importance of people not jumping to conclusions about who was responsible or their motivation.”
