In a shocking incident captured on surveillance video, a woman was seen vandalizing a Pittsburgh business, Marvista Design + Build, using a hammer to attack a front window displaying a sign that read, "We stand with Israel."
The business is located on Beechwood Boulevard in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, known for its substantial Jewish population.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the unidentified woman approached the business around 3:50 a.m. on Friday. She repeatedly struck the window where the sign was displayed. Despite her efforts, the glass did not shatter, prompting her to leave, only to return a few minutes later. She continued her assault on the window, eventually grabbing the sign and proceeding to smash the windows of a company truck. By the time the police arrived, the woman had already fled the scene.
The owner of the business, Michael "Shlomo" Jacobs, 53, expressed his alarm at the anger displayed by the woman. "If you look at the video, the anger in those swings is deeply concerning for not only myself but for the Jewish community," Jacobs told Fox News on Monday. He added that the sound of the hammer hitting the store was so loud that neighbors mistook it for gunshots.
Jacobs also commented on the escalating levels of aggression, antisemitism, and hate, stating, "The aggression that we are seeing right now and the antisemitism and the hate has escalated to an unbelievable level right now that weve never seen in our lifetime."
Jacobs also responded to the recent actions of local Rep. Summer Lee and four other progressive Democrats who introduced a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire "in Israel and occupied Palestine." The resolution does not mention Hamas terrorism or call for the release of the Israeli hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack. Jacobs urged Lee, who represents Squirrel Hill, to stop spreading misinformation. "Hamas is a known terrorist organization. They have one mission and one mission only: to annihilate Jews and Israel, and after theyre done with Jews and Israel, [they] are going to come after Westerners," he said.
In a separate incident, hateful graffiti was found spray-painted across public areas and homes in parts of Squirrel Hill on Oct. 31, just four days after the five-year commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, as reported by the Post-Gazette.
Rabbi Yisroel Rosenfeld, 71, of the Lubavitch Center in Squirrel Hill, referred to the incident at Marvista Design + Build as "very unfortunate." He expressed hope that the perpetrator was an outsider trying to disrupt the harmony of the community.
Meanwhile, Jacobs has displayed two more signs that read, "We Stand With Israel." He told the Post-Gazette, "We are Jewish. We have a business in Squirrel Hill. We serve the Greater Pittsburgh community and Im not going to hide."
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