(JTA) — An Orthodox Jewish man was forced to leave his home in England after criticizing Israel’s Gaza operation at a protest rally.
The Greater Manchester home was vandalized twice with eggs and graffiti and smashed windows, and his car was sprayed with red paint, the Manchester Evening News reported Sunday.
The man moved out after he was attacked by a mob of up to 30 people, according to the newspaper.
Police are investigating the incidents and are treating them as hate crimes, the Jewish News website reported Sunday. The vandalism started at the end of July, while the operation was ongoing. Israel and Hamas have since agreed to a cease-fire.
The man reportedly spoke out against Israel’s bombing of Gaza in Manchester city center, where pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have been held, and also discussed his views in the community.
“I have lived here for many years and I have never known a situation where the Jewish community turned on each other,” a neighbor told the Manchester Evening News.
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