{"id":104894,"date":"2025-05-16T00:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T00:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/104894\/"},"modified":"2025-05-16T00:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T00:37:13","slug":"its-made-everyone-feel-more-uneasy-community-reacts-after-office-block-smashed-up-and-covered-in-red-paint-in-anti-semitic-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/104894\/","title":{"rendered":"“It’s made everyone feel more uneasy”: Community reacts after office block smashed up and covered in red paint in ‘anti-Semitic attack’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Prestwich office block in a mainly residential street was daubed with red paint and graffitiRico House was the subject of an early hours attack<\/p>\n

Residents have reacted in horror after a vandalism attack on an office block in the heart of Greater Manchester\u2019s Jewish community. In the early hours of Thursday, May 15, the peace of the George Street area in Sedgley Park was shattered when Rico House, an office block, was targeted.<\/p>\n

Police said an investigation has been launched after red paint was daubed extensively across the front of the building. The words \u2018Happy Nakba Day\u2019 were painted onto the building.<\/p>\n

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for the incident.<\/p>\n

It claims the office block is home to the \u2018Manchester-based landlords\u2019 of Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems. Greater Manchester Police<\/a> says it was called to reports of criminal damage at the building shortly before 4am on Thursday, and enquiries are ongoing. As well as the attack on Rico House, Palestine Action says it also targeted the Elbit Systems factors in Filton, near Bristol, and the office of BNY Mellon bank, in Edinburgh, this morning.<\/p>\n

In contrast to other similar incidents, Rico House was targeted at a building surrounded by family homes. The Local Democracy Reporting Service visited George Street on Thursday.<\/p>\n

George Street, Prestwich<\/p>\n

The quiet, leafy street, in the heart of Prestwich<\/a>\u2019s Jewish community is mostly residential and the sound of young families enjoying the sunshine in their gardens could be heard.<\/p>\n

Bury<\/a>\u2019s Council leader, Eamonn O\u2019Brien said he was \u2018deeply upset\u2019 to see \u2018anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish businesses in our borough\u2019. Those views were echoed by people passing by the building on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Without exception, those approached did not want their names publishing. One man, in his 50s, said: \u201cIt\u2019s shocking and really disappointing. Surely we\u2019re better than this.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobal issues are now coming to the doorstep of our community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a better way to protest and a better way to get your point across.\u201d Another man, 79, who lives in nearby Kersal, said: \u201cIt\u2019s makes everyone in the community feel more uneasy. \u201cI know it\u2019s targeting property rather than people but it\u2019s not nice to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s deeply unpleasant and worrying.\u201d A man leaving Rico House through its damaged front door would not comment, saying the attack on the building \u2018had already been made public\u2019.<\/p>\n

Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the attack on Rico House, in Prestwich(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Coun O\u2019Brien, added: \u201cI would like to reassure our Jewish community that we stand with them against these sorts of attacks and will do all we can to ensure an end to division and hate in our borough. \u201cI have asked that the council work closely with the police and request an increase in patrols in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actions have been condemned by community representatives, include the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which provides security to the UK\u2019s Jewish communities.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for CST said: \u201cCST is appalled by the vile paint attack against a mainly Jewish office block in North Manchester. \u201cWe have been working closely with the police and the location, doing our utmost to help identify the anti-Semitic vandals and to give security support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christian Wakeford MP, Labour<\/a> MP for Bury South, has also condemned the attack. \u201cI\u2019m deeply troubled to have learned that last night there was an attack on a property in the heart of the Jewish community in my constituency,\u201d he said. \u201cThe attack saw anti-Semitic graffiti targeted towards the Jewish owners of the building and those Jewish businesses who use the building. \u201cAnti-Semitism can never be tolerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to reassure all my constituents that any hatred, towards any community in Bury South can never be justified, at any level.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Street, Sedgley Park<\/p>\n

A GMP spokesperson said: \u201cShortly before 4am this morning (Thursday, May 15), we were called to reports of criminal damage at a building on George Street, Prestwich.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scene has now been processed and closed, but officers continue to conduct further enquiries. \u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone with information should call us on 101 quoting log 316 of May 15, 2025.\u201d Nakba Day commemorates the displacement of Palestinians on May 15, 1948, the day which followed the Israeli Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Prestwich office block in a mainly residential street was daubed with red paint and graffitiRico House was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,1285,393,4884,2465,285,3044,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-104894","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-bury","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-prestwich","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114514719251638059","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}