Public Menorahs Vandalized in Brooklyn, Chicago
Two Chabad public menorahs were recently vandalized, one in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge and the other in a suburb of Chicago, IL.
From DNAinfo:
An 8-foot menorah was mangled and knocked down in Bay Ridge on the fourth night of Hanukkah, residents and police said.
The Chabad of Bay Ridge’s aluminum menorah was “cracked at the base and bent in the middle” at the corner of 65th Street and 7th Avenue sometime between 2 and 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Rabbi Tzvi Stroh told DNAInfo Friday. An accompanying 3-by-4-foot sign reading “Chabad wishes you a Happy Chanukkah” was stolen also.
“My immediate reaction was surprise and shock, like ‘Why would anyone do this?’” Stroh said.
Chabad volunteer Hanoch Barhorin, who helped light the electric menorah, said, “It was very disturbing.”
“Where was the sign?” Barhorin said. “That was one of the most powerful messages, and it got us a little nervous.”
The NYPD said it has no suspects and is still investigating. A spokesman said he could not speculate on a motive.
From The Forward:
A six-foot-tall Hanukkah menorah in Evanston, Illinois was vandalized.
The damage to the electric menorah is being investigated as a possible hate crime, Chicago’s CBS Local reported Thursday.
The menorah stands outside a facility run by the Chicago Mitzvah Campaign, a Chabad group that provides services to Jewish patients, visitors and staff members of nearby hospitals.
Motive
Bay ridge is a dominant Muslim area. No surprise at all! In today’s climate it should’ve been expected.
tss2
assume this might happen and have surveillance cameras by them. this could catch the perp and prevent them from doing it to someone else. there could otherwise be a next time.
anonymous
the menorah was in a main intersection in Bay Ridge where there was no way to arrange surveillance
Shliach
It is so sad to keep seeing posts like this. We all know there are crazies out there why put a cheap, weak, delicate menorah in a place that it can easily be vandalized. Get a strong one, then you will see a headline that says “attempted vandalism of Menorah”
chicago
There is a shliach in Kentucky that welds his own menorahs and made one for me out of steel. You can’t break this thing if you tried. If you are looking for a “legit” menorah look him up.
reeted vandalisam???
Drom memory didn’t the sliach in Brooklyn have this happen previously?
anonymous
he had a different menorah vandalism at a different location on two occasions. this was the third time a menorah was vandalized/stolen at chabad of bay ridge