A 3 a.m. vandalism job on the Valencia Street ice cream shop Smitten left windows broken and “Free Palestine” graffiti on the storefront, and it may not be a coincidence that the store is Jewish-owned.
Another local reaction to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict has left a Valencia Street ice cream shop boarded up, and possibly closed indefinitely. Mission Local reports that the Jewish-owned ice creamery Smitten was vandalized and tagged with graffiti early Wednesday morning, and one front window was prominently tagged with the words “FREE PALESTIEN” (sic).
When SFist went by at 1:45 Tuesday, we found all the windows of the shop boarded up. The store usually opens at 2 p.m., and it’s unclear whether the shop will reopen Wednesday. Mission Local’s report from Wednesday morning describes a storefront “smashed to pieces,” whose “windows and two doors were covered in plastic, and shards of glass were visible on the pavement, as well as inside the shop.”
The parklet outside Smitten was not affected or damaged, and we did not observe any notable vandalism to any adjacent Valencia and 20th street storefronts.
Mission Local got a statement from SFPD, who say they were alerted by a 2:49 a.m. alarm activation, and sent officers to the scene. “When they met with the victim, they were able to determine that the business had been vandalized for unknown reasons.”
It’s not immediately clear whether the vandalism will be considered or investigated as a hate crime. Per Mission Local, Smitten founder Robyn Sue Fisher is Jewish, though it may be purely coincidental that this business was targeted with said vandalism and graffiti.
Related: Anti-Jewish Graffiti Appears on Market Street Following Pro-Palestinian March [SFist]
Image: Joe Kukura, SFist
