(JTA) — Police in Manchester, England, are investigating a suspected arson at a kosher restaurant.
Security camera footage shows the Ta’am Restaurant in Bury, 11 miles north of Manchester, being doused with a liquid by two unidentified men before bursting into flames on Friday night, the Manchester Evening News reported Wednesday. No one was hurt in the incident.
The owners said they believe the attack could be motivated by their Jewish heritage, although police said they have found no evidence that is the case. The restaurant recently moved to Bury.
The blaze tore through the building, causing an explosion, with the deli quickly filling with smoke. Yet the attack only caused minimal damage, according to the report.
Police say two men smashed a window to get into the deli between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday.
“We are keeping an open mind on the possible motivation for this incident, but there is no evidence to suggest that it was racially motivated,” Detective Inspector Jonathan Kelly of the local police force told the Standard.
Martine Vaizman, who has co-owned the business with her husband, Amos, for four years, told The Jewish Chronicle of London that seeing the footage “was the most horrendous feeling — knowing that someone didn’t just wish us ill, but also followed through. I can’t understand who would be capable of doing such a thing.”
Vaizman said she and her husband were not at the restaurant at the time of the fire because it was Shabbat, so they had only found out what happened on Saturday night, when Amos Vaizman turned on his phone.
Vaizman, who was born in Israel, told the Chronicle she and her husband have not received hate mail prior to the incident.
