Previously targeted kosher restaurant hit in suspected arson attempt

Kosher restaurant Ha Carmel on Amstelveenseweg in Amsterdam was vandalized on Friday morning. One of its windows was broken. The police arrested a suspect, using pepper spray during the arrest, the Amsterdam police said on Twitter. This not the first time Ha Carmel was targeted in recent years.

According to interest group Federatief Joods Nederland, the perpetrator wanted to set fire to the restaurant. The organization posted a photo of the damage on Twitter.

The police are investigating the vandalism and the motive behind it.

This was not the first time Ha Carmel was targeted. In January, a suspicious box with wiring sticking out of it was found outside the restaurant. The police were called in, surrounding buildings were evacuated, and the Ministry of Defense's Explosive Ordnance Disposal was called in to investigate. It eventually turned out not to be an explosive.

In December 2017, the restaurant's windows were smashed by a Syrian man wearing a Palestinian flag. In January 2018, someone smeared a mixture of eggs and mayonnaise over the building's facade. And in March of that year, someone again broke a window at the restaurant.