A Miami Beach bagel shop was once again a target of vandalism, with surveillance footage showing a man ripping down an American flag from the storefront on Friday.
It happened at Bagel Time Cafe on Alton Road. In the video, the man seems to assess the flags — one Israeli-American flag and then a second American flag — then he strolls right over, rips the American one down and casually walks off.
"It’s not normal, it’s not acceptable," cafe owner Josh Nodel said. "Again, it is American pride, that’s it, they take the American flag. C’mon, you got to be out of your mind. I mean, you want a flag? I will buy you one."
This isn't the first time somebody has desecrated Nodel’s restaurant, which caters to an orthodox Jewish clientele.
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The signs and flags went up shortly after the Israel-Hamas war broke out. In one incident, a man took a knife and slashed his sign outside reading how the restaurant stands with Israel.
After that, his surveillance system captured a woman ripping down the sign and the American-Israeli flag, taking them to the middle of the street and stomping on them.
He discovered this most recent incident when he came to open up his restaurant.
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"Saturday night, we come to open shortly for pizza and fries, and that’s when I am looking as I came in — 'Where is my American flag? Come on,'" Nodel said.
The man who slashed the sign has been arrested and charged. Police haven't found the woman yet.
Nodel said they've been busy feeding people during the holidays. He hasn't notified police about the situation yet but plans to.
"We read in the Bible next week about Pharaoh, how he tortured the Jews for many years, and then the more he tortured, the more that they exposed — so this is going to make us just get stronger and stronger. Like I say, 'Am Yisrael Chai,'" Nodel said.
