Police investigating arson at kosher restaurant

It is not yet clear what the motivation was for the attack. JS is Manchester’s oldest Jewish restaurant, having served the community for 60 years.

This is not the first time that JS has had a fire. In 2008 the restaurant underwent a makeover after a fire damaged its second floor and destroyed its kitchen. However, that fire was not thought to be arson, with the blaze attributed to an overheated oven.  

In a statement released this morning Greater Manchester Police said they were “investigating an arson attack at a restaurant on Kings Road in Prestwich, that happened at about 3.30am on Tuesday 6 June 2017.

“No one was injured and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident number 206 06/06/17, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.”

In a statement to the JC, the Community Security Trust (CST) said:

"We are working very closely with GMP but there is no specific information at this time to prove that the attack was or was not antisemitic and we don’t want to jump to any conclusions about what has occurred.

"We will be sending out security advice to restaurants and shops in Greater Manchester today but this is purely precautionary".