A branch of a popular pasta chain in Herzliya was vandalized overnight Thursday-Friday, allegedly because it opens for business on Shabbat.

Mayor Yariv Fisher expressed outrage on Facebook after the windows of the Pasta Basta franchise were smashed, in the same shopping center where a branch of the Othello ice cream chain was thrice vandalized until it decided to shutter its doors on Shabbat, which runs from sundown Friday to nightfall on Saturday.

“This is a very serious criminal act. Firstly, we are standing by the business owners and are working with the police to quickly locate those responsible and bring them to justice,” Fisher wrote. Herzliya is a largely secular city.

He added, “It is important to state that this is not just an attack on the business itself, but more generally on the core values of Herzliya and its residents.”

Fisher said he spoke to the owner of the restaurant and agreed on steps to continue to promote the shopping complex in light of the vandalism.

He said he will continue to hold regular meetings with his municipal coalition at the branch, as he wrote that he has done for two weeks as a gesture of support for the shopping complex.

He said he also........

© The Times of Israel