The Camden branch of Balady, an Israeli-owned Middle Eastern restaurant chain, was vandalised on Friday morning with the words ‘Free Palestine’ graffitied over the entrance.

The graffiti, presumed to have been put up overnight, was painted over by Camden Council this morning according to store worker Othman Marouane. Officers came shortly after being notified by council members that an incident had occurred.

Israeli-born owner Oz Sabbo said the restaurant never faced incidents of vandalism until the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Balady is a local haunt that brings the diverse communities of Camden together, according to Sabbo, with workers hailing from all around the world just like the clientele.

“We have Hebrew, English and Arabic [on our sign] so it's really breaking our hearts to see this,” Sabbo said. “We are a Jewish establishment that tries to bring people together.”

Indeed, the restaurant chain that tried to “lift the community with falafel during lockdown” has been a gift to locals since opening its Camden branch just over a year ago, but in recent months has had to contend with the tense atmosphere brought on by the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Sabbo, A Jerusalem native who has lived in London for 12 years and not experienced any instances of antisemitism until the past two months, said that even the restaurant his family owned in Israel, where Israelis and Palestinians worked side by side, never faced any hostility.

Balady worker Othman Marouane points out some of the black graffiti paint that was not covered by Camden Council.

The period since October 7 has been "the first time that there are antisemitic attacks on our shop” according to Marouane and Sabbo, and there have been several instances of vandalism and intimidation during that time. In one incident, the blue shutters over the store’s windows were graffitied and, in another, a passerby aggressively berated the workers.

An incident of vandalism that left the building's shutters permanently scratched.

But there are supportive customers of the restaurant too, evidenced by a letter Marouane found posted on the window this morning from a neighbour, evidently left before Camden Council painted over the graffiti.

The note that a supportive Balady customer left on the shop

"I’m sorry people are assholes! This is unacceptable,” the letter said. “I live next door, will come help clean this off with you”. 

Balady also has locations in Temple Fortune, High Barnet and Leather Lane and Sabbo said that the Camden location is the only one that has been defaced.

Camden Council has been contacted for comment.