Rabbi Yacov Borenstein, who erected the original menorah in New Windsor, said it was important to replace the damaged religious symbol to make a statement.
"We want to show it doesn't break our spirits," said Borenstein, of Chabad Lubavitch of the Mid-Hudson Valley.
He was joined by fellow religious leaders and community activists who said they wanted to show solidarity with the local Jewish community.
Ceremony shows unity against menorah vandals
A new menorah was raised and dedicated Wednesday by local religious leaders, four days after a menorah was vandalized and destroyed at the same site.
Rabbi Yacov Borenstein, who erected the original menorah in New Windsor, said it was important to replace the damaged religious symbol to make a statement.
“We want to show it doesn’t break our spirits,” said Borenstein, of Chabad Lubavitch of the Mid-Hudson Valley.
He was joined by fellow religious leaders and community activists who said they wanted to show solidarity with the local Jewish community.
Each year for Hanukkah, Borenstein and his group place about 30 menorahs in public spaces around the mid-Hudson Valley, including a large menorah on Poughkeeepsie’s Main Street.
A menorah is a candelabrum with branches for nine candles. One of the most ancient symbols of the Jewish faith, it’s used for Hanukkah celebrations, the “Festival of Lights.”
This year, two menorahs were placed in New Windsor. Police said one of the menorahs, at the intersection of Blooming Grove Turnpike and Quassaick Avenue, was destroyed overnight between Dec. 23 and 24.
No tolerance for bigotry
That same night, several mailboxes were destroyed in a nearby housing development, and police said the two crimes could be related. An investigation is continuing.
Goshen-based civil rights attorney Michael Sussman said Wednesday’s ceremony to dedicate the new menorah also was an opportunity to “show the community’s revulsion with that sort of behavior.”
“I don’t think we can just be quiet about it,” Sussman said. “I think there has to be a broad consensus that this stuff is not to be tolerated.”
There are about 11,000 menorahs on display in public spaces around the U.S. this year, said Joel Levy, New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Nationally, there have been six reports this year of vandalism to the displays, which Levy said is about average.
Like New Windsor, most of the other communities have held rededication ceremonies, an apt response because the holiday celebrates the rededication of the Temple of the Maccabees, Levy said.
“It is an echo of what the holiday stands for and the resolve of good people that they cannot be beaten down and will not be intimidated by vandals,” he said.
Clergy from other faiths were quick to throw their support behind the local Jewish community.
After the vandalism, an e-mail from Sussman circulated, drawing interest from other leaders. The Rev. Jim Bridges, a Unitarian Universalist minister who leads the Congregation at Rock Tavern in New Windsor, said action against one religion threatens all faiths.
“To me,” he said, “it’s a hate crime against religion in general.”
