Beitar Jerusalem Owner Barak Abramov Denies Football Link to Attacks on Japnika Chain

Barak Abramov, owner of the Beitar Jerusalem football club, reassured the team amid recent attacks targeting his Japnika restaurant chain. He emphasized that these incidents are unrelated to football activities and conveyed the same message to investigators questioning him. According to police sources, there is suspicion that grenade attacks on four Japnika branches are connected to Abramov's business dealings outside of football. Authorities are investigating leads and using technological means to clarify the events occurring in various cities.

Abramov is fully cooperating with the investigation. A police official familiar with the case stated, "There is absolutely no connection to Beitar Jerusalem; the focus is solely on business matters." The wave of attacks began with arson at the Japnika branch in Givatayim. Subsequently, grenades were thrown at a building in Or Yehuda and a branch in Kiryat Ono, and an explosive device was placed at a Japnika location in Ramat Gan. Investigators are currently examining whether these incidents are linked.

Abramov founded an investment group in 2006 that owned several restaurant chains in Israel, including Japnika. In 2015, he bought out his partner’s share of Japnika, which operated about 20 branches, for 50 million shekels. In May 2026, it was reported that Abramov sold 20% of his investment group in a deal expected to inject approximately 200 million shekels into his holdings.