A woman who posted a viral video of herself at a New Jersey restaurant tearing down Greek flags after mistaking them for Israeli ones has been arrested and charged, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Amber Matthews, known as Ambamelia on social media, was charged with bias and intimidation on Tuesday over the March 11 incident at Efi’s Gyro in Montclair, local police said, and is due in court on December 3, according to the Post.
The paper said restaurant owner Efi Mihalis had complained to police in March, but Matthews was caught only seven months later, after she posted a video of her mistaken vandalism to TikTok.
Montclair police chief Todd Conforti told the local news that the community “strives to treat all individuals with dignity and respect.”
“I hope this investigation sends a clear message that our agency will not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination, and offenders will be held accountable for their actions,” he added.
Matthew’s video, first published on October 15, quickly went viral. The Post said it has raked up 4.5 million views on TikTok and millions more on other platforms.
@ambamelia
In the video, Matthews, 23, tears down a string of blue-and-white flags outside a restaurant.
“Free Palestine!” she yells, to the bemused looks of restaurant workers.
“What are you looking at? You know damn well there’s a genocide,” she says. “I’m taking this shit down.”
“I don’t stand for it. There’s genocide, and I don’t stand for Zionism,” Matthews says.
“Are you proud of your heritage?” she asks a worker, who explains the flags are Greek, not Israeli.
“My bad,” said Matthews. “It looks like Israel. Do you want it back?”
Feeling embarrassed, she later apologized for her actions and expressed her shame over the misunderstanding.
Anti-Israeli protests in the US
Anti-Israel sentiment in the US over the conflict in Gaza has intensified, with significant protests and polarization occurring both on college campuses and among the general population.
Many protests have taken place on university campuses, including at institutions like New York University, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley. These protests often involve encampments, calls for divestment from companies linked to Israel, and, at times, confrontations with police.
In some instances, students and faculty have been arrested for their actions, which has only heightened the visibility and intensity of these demonstrations.
The Greek and Israeli flags
The Greek flag has nine alternating stripes of blue and white. The blue stripes represent the sky and seas, while the white stripes symbolize the purity of the Greek independence struggle. The white cross in the upper left corner is a symbol of Greek Orthodoxy.
For some, the flag’s nine horizontal stripes represent the nine syllables in the revolutionary phrase “Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος (Eleftheria i Thanatos),” which translates to “Freedom or Death.”
The Greeks proudly proclaimed the utterance during the War of Independence, and it embodies their willingness to sacrifice their own lives in the fight for freedom.
However, some say that the nine stripes simply represent the nine letters of Ελευθερία or freedom.
Others have posited that the nine stripes represent the nine muses from the country’s ancient history; however, this claim is disputed.
The Israeli flag has a white background with two blue stripes and a white Star of David in the center. The white background represents purity and peace. The blue stripes represent the Mediterranean Sea. The Star of David is a Jewish symbol, often associated with King David of the Bible.
Both flags use blue and white, but the arrangement and proportions differ.
Related: The Greek Flag Through the Centuries
