The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle was left vandalized after what employees said were pro-Hamas protestors spray-painting and breaking glass at the location, which was subsequently closed for repairs. Employees who were in the building at the time escaped through the back door. The vandals scrawled, “Starbucks supports genocide” and “Enter if you support genocide” in front of the store.
Earlier this fall, Starbucks Workers Union put out a statement in support of Hamas.
The Friday vandalism incident leading to the Saturday closure at the Starbucks store followed a pro-Hamas group of several dozen protesters who occupied the traditional tree-lighting ceremony at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle on Friday. The protesters took over the stage and children and their parents who were there for the festivities felt threatened, as police did not arrest the disrupters of the sanctioned event.
On Thursday, pro-Hamas protestors glued themselves to the pavement during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
On Saturday night in Vermont, three men who were dressed in Palestinian-style scarves were shot by a man on foot. The three men, all college students, were on their way to a Thanksgiving Day dinner in Burlington. This violent crime has been labeled a hate crime by authorities, while the vandalism crime against the Starbucks and the fear caused at the Christmas tree ceremony in Seattle was not labeled a hate crime.
The Department of Justice has reported a strong uptick in threats against both Muslims and Jews since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, leading to a conflict that has become the deadliest war for Israel since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
