BERKELEY (KRON) — The words “Israel baby killer” were found spray painted on the sidewalk outside of Boichik Bagels in Berkeley on Thursday.

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Boichik’s owner, Emily Winston, says it’s an attack against her Jewish-owned business. “It’s pretty upsetting to get that. It’s my first time getting such a thing here,” Winston said.

Winston says the graffiti popped up in two spots outside her College Avenue shop Wednesday afternoon. She later bought her own paint remover to scrub it out.

“I’m mad. I’m out here building a great thing that people love, and it’s really easy for someone to come off the sidelines and deface it. It doesn’t take too much effort to throw down a little spray paint it takes a lot more to scrub it off,” Winston said.

Boichik Bagels is not the first Jewish-owned Bay Area business to be targeted since the Israel-Hamas war began last October.

Smitten Ice Cream in San Francisco’s Mission district was forced to temporarily close in November. Vandals smashed in the windows and spray-painted “Free Palestine.” Winston says she nor her business has openly taken a stance on the war in Gaza, but they have received threats on social media.

Winston says she still views the Bay Area as a shining example of acceptance and wants to focus on what she does best. “I’m six thousand miles away making bagels. I’m not running Middle Eastern politics,” Winston said.

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