Windows of kosher restaurant in DC shattered, police investigating

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said officers are investigating after windows of Char Bar, a kosher restaurant in Northwest D.C., were shattered overnight on Saturday.

MPD said that at about 3 a.m., it received a call that the windows of a business in the 2100 block of L St. were being destroyed.

When officers arrived at the business, they saw two shattered windows and two large stones nearby.

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Police searched the area for those responsible but couldn’t find anyone. No security cameras were seen in the area.

“Like really? You don’t have anything better to do with your lives than to waste energy and time, and people’s money and stuff to do, to do what?” said owner of Char Bar, Michael Chelst. “We’re just a restaurant here. We serve the Jewish community,”

MPD said the department was initially investigating the offense as “potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” however, in an update on Sunday afternoon, MPD spokesman Tom Lynch said that, at the moment, there is no information or evidence to suggest that the vandalism was motivated by hate or bias.

“You know, it’s pretty clear that it was a hate crime,” Chelst said in response. “I mean, there are seven other places with glass on this street, and they didn’t hit any of those.”

Other Jewish leaders also voiced their concerns.

“Maybe the fact that it’s known as a prominent kosher restaurant where many people who are Jewish and their friends frequent made it a target,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice-president of the D.C.-based organization, American Friends of Lubavitch.

Chelst estimates it will cost up to $12,000 to repair the damage.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington released a statement regarding the incident on Sunday morning, saying in part:

“Last night, the windows were smashed at Washington, DC kosher restaurant, Char Bar. This vandalism of a Jewish business is deeply disturbing on its own. Its timing on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht, ‘the night of broken glass,’ raises many more questions and concerns that must be answered. We demand a full investigation and the swift arrest of the perpetrators.”

Kristallnacht took place in 1938 between Nov. 9 and Nov. 10. During this period, Nazis in Germany murdered nearly 100 Jews and vandalized Jewish-owned businesses, Synagogues, homes and schools.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington could not be reached for further comment after police said there was no evidence to suggest the vandalism was motivated by hate or bias.

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