Israeli-owned kitchen store in Maryland hit with repeated vandalism

A vandal splattered red paint reminiscent of blood on an Israeli-owned kitchen design store in Maryland overnight Wednesday-Thursday, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the US business.

Idan Tzameret, the owner of Kitchen Design by Idan, said his store has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the Gaza war, apparently because of the Israeli flags hanging from the front of the building.

A friend called him at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday to say he had some “bad news — somebody spray-painted your door red,” Tzameret said.

“I was like, ‘Okay, it happened again,” Tzameret told The Times of Israel, adding that Thursday was his birthday.

“I got a nice gift for my birthday,” he said. He spent most of the day dealing with the police and arranging a clean-up.

Tzameret posted photos on social media showing red paint streaking down his store’s white door, one of his Israeli flags soaked in red, and more paint splattered on the sidewalk in front of the entrance.

The store has three Israeli and three American flags on its facade.

Tzameret provides clients with custom interior designs and build services for kitchens. He has been in the US for 23 years, started his business seven years ago, and has been in his current location for four years. The store is in Towson, in Baltimore County.

Tzameret has filed four police reports in the past two years due to vandalism, but estimates the store has been targeted in about 20 different incidents.

In some of the incidents, a swastika was spray-painted onto one of his Israeli flags, stickers accusing Israel of genocide were plastered on his fence, and a man entered the store and shouted at one of his employees, he said.

He also shared security camera footage of the individual who vandalized his store on Thursday and said he will press charges in federal court. The images showed a man wearing a blue shirt and Crocs holding what appeared to be a can of spray paint shortly before midnight.

“I get pretty good support from the community and pretty good support from people who matter,” Tzameret said.

The FBI yesterday released an annual report indicating antisemitic crimes hit a record 1,938 incidents in the US in 2024.

Anti-Israel activists in the US and elsewhere have repeatedly doused their targets in red paint since the start of the war, targeting politicians, libraries, monuments, homes and businesses.

The Paris offices of Israeli national airline El Al were smeared with red paint and pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel graffiti this week.

The FBI yesterday released an annual report indicating antisemitic crimes hit a record 1,938 incidents in the US in 2024.