‘Holocaust 2025’ – Prague shop hit with antisemitic graffiti

“Holocaust 2025” and “Fascists” were spray-painted on the Judaica store.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A Judaica store in Prague was hit last week for the third time this summer with antisemitic graffiti, raising concerns in the Jewish community as police search for the perpetrators.

The Jewish E-Shop in the Vinohrady district advertises in both Hebrew and English on its store sign, displays a large Jewish star and has Israel-themed knickknacks in the window, making it an obvious target for antisemites.

According to Ynet, the man who sprayed the words “Holocaust 2025” and “Fascists” across the door’s window and front wall knew where the security cameras were and didn’t care.

The man, who was wearing a sombrero, “star[ed] directly into the lens for several seconds before fleeing” the scene, the report said.

While the European Jewish Congress reported that the authorities are considering this a potential hate crime, police spokesperson Jan Rybanský said this, and two previous incidents of hateful writing on the store over the last month, are being investigated as “property damage.”

Another disturbing incident was when a few individuals spat on the entrance of the store, store owner David Fábry said, according to Prague-based media platform Expats.cz.

He said he has received expressions of support from the public, noting, “People are offering to pay for the damage. We really appreciate it.”

Police have requested the aid of the public in finding the perpetrators, and are advising residents to stay vigilant, particularly in high-traffic areas and around sites associated with minority communities.

Organizations in the approximately 10 Jewish communities in the country, which total about 10,000 members, have begun coordinating additional protective measures.

Pavel Král, chairman of the Jewish community in the Czech capital, condemned the blatant display of hatred.

“This is a completely unacceptable act that crosses all boundaries,” he said.

A local rabbi, David Maxa, tied the graffiti to one of the darkest periods in Jewish history.

“This is how it all started in the 1930s,” he posted to X on Thursday. “First the hate messages, then the windows smashed with stones, finally the deportations and mass murders.”

“Today, we see a similar scenario again: openly antisemitic people spreading hatred, expanding groups of people who accept their propaganda, and all the silent ones who prefer to indifferently stand by and not intervene,” he added, while thanking “all those who do not remain silent.”

“Antisemitism is not just an attack on Jews,” Maxa warned. “It is a poison that corrodes the whole of society. And it is in all our hands how we deal with it. Before it’s too late…”

The Federation of Jewish Communities of the Czech Republic reported that there were 4,304 antisemitic incidents in 2023, an increase of 90% over the previous year, which the group linked to the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023.

Almost all of the cases consisted of online hate speech, the report noted.

A U.S. State Department report said the same could be said regarding cases of antisemitism in the Czech Republic 2024, with only “rare” expressions in public settings.