Israeli Flag Torn Down At Bucks Co. Business

UPPER SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP, PA —Daniel Buchnik is a little shocked about what happened at his Bucks County business Wednesday afternoon.

Around 5:15 p.m., four men wearing ski masks and hoodies walked into the Cafe Ole in the Valley, headed to the back of the business where an Israeli flag was hanging, and ripped it down.

"They started cursing and said Free Palestine and then walked out," said Daniel Buchnik, co-owner and partner of the County Line Road coffee shop near Second Street Pike. "It shouldn't happen."

Buchnik said the incident took less than a minute but is now a lasting memory as the business has become a victim of the tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas.

Luckily, Buchnik said the cafe captured the incident on video surveillance, and the Upper Southampton Township Police Department is now investigating the incident.

The business hung the Israeli flag as a show of support for one of the partners, who is from Israel and has family there.

Buchnik said the business has been in operation since 2017 and the partners have another location on 3rd and Arch Street in Philadelphia that has existed for more than 25 years.

"They thought this was funny and wanted to send a message," he said. "This is flat-out wrong."