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A Washington, DC, kosher restaurant was vandalized on the anniversary of Kristallnacht
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A Washington, DC, kosher restaurant was vandalized on the anniversary of Kristallnacht

Char Bar, a kosher restaurant in DC, was vandalized by breaking two of its windows on Saturday, police said.

No one entered the establishment. Since the incident, the restaurant’s windows have been boarded up.

“Just the idiocy of people — that was my first reaction,” said Michael Chelst, owner of Char Bar. “Like, really? You have nothing better to do with your lives than to waste people’s energy and time and money doing what? We’re just a restaurant here.”

Chelst said what worried him most was the timing of the murder.

The vandalism comes on the occasion of the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Kristallnacht is called the “night of broken glass” because thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and places of worship were destroyed by the German Nazis. About 90 Jews were killed and about 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

NBC Washington has reached out to DC police to see if this is being investigated as a possible hate crime. So far in the investigation, there is no information or evidence that the vandalism was motivated by hate or bias, but that is something that could change as more information comes to light.

“It’s a disappointing thing to hear because it’s pretty clear this is a hate crime,” Chelst said. “There are seven other places with glass on this street and they didn’t hit any of them.”

Despite the vandalism, customers continued to come to the restaurant, with many saying they decided to dine there as a way to support the business.

An online fundraiser has also been set up to help pay for repairs, which Chelst estimates could cost nearly $10,000. He said he was grateful for the support.

“Whatever kind of hate there is, we all have to do our part to try not to let that happen and support that, and in the meantime we’re going to go on and live. lives and not let people like this change our mission, which is to support our community,” Chelst said.