Palm Beach County had its second hate crime this month against Jews when a menorah was bombarded with eggs at the Chabad Student Center in Boca Raton.
Rabbi Boruch Shmuel Liberow woke up Wednesday morning to find eggs and egg shells splattered around his 2008 Honda Civic that's topped with a two-foot menorah. The eggs dried up overnight and caused about $1,200 in damage to the car's paint, according to the police report.
Video – Egged Menorah in Boca Raton Dubbed Hate Crime
Palm Beach County had its second hate crime this month against Jews when a menorah was bombarded with eggs at the Chabad Student Center in Boca Raton.
Rabbi Boruch Shmuel Liberow woke up Wednesday morning to find eggs and egg shells splattered around his 2008 Honda Civic that’s topped with a two-foot menorah. The eggs dried up overnight and caused about $1,200 in damage to the car’s paint, according to the police report.
It’s the only menorah in the 900 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue. The five-year-old student center serves a few hundred students from Florida Atlantic University, Palm Beach Community College and Lynn University. Police are still investigating the crime and Liberow said he had no threats prior to the vandalism.
“The menorah on the car is the only one in the area, that’s why they classified it as a hate crime,” police spokeswoman Sandra Boonenberg said.
In the first hate crime case this month, Palm Beach Gardens police arrested a man on Dec. 9 who allegedly smashed a mezuzah, made insulting remarks about Judaism and painted a Nazi swastika on a former tenant’s apartment over a civil dispute. The victim stopped paying rent to suspect Anthony David Schell, 32, when she learned the unit was in foreclosure, police said.
Liberow said though the crime is disturbing, it only strengthens the message of Hanukkah.
“This was a message for us to continue with more goodness and kindness,” Liberow said, “to bring more light to the world.”
There’s little evidence other than the splattered eggs and Liberow hearing “loud and boisterous” teens in the area the night of the crime.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Boonenberg said. “But we’ll investigate it thoroughly.”
Liberow said he’d like to meet whoever vandalized the menorah.
“This is not the way we handle things,” he said. “We live in the world where we have differences but we should still be able to sit around and respect each other.”
Zalman-s
I wonder if publicizing acts of antisemitisim is the right way to react? What was the Rebbe’s approach? How should we react to such an incidence?
shlucha
thats the way it should be done! kol hakavodm seriously most people in his situation would just complain but on live tv rabbi leibrow gives a whole dvar torah! the rebbe is proud!! with this kind of attitude we are bringing moshiach closer!
shlucha
YES WE SHOULD PUBLICIZE THIS!! ofcourse when we dnt say anything about it or if we complain then all that will happen is that we are giving the world a message “YOU ARE STRONGER THEN US”..we let the win! but no! we are winning we stand with our heads up high and show no Hashem is on our side! and when we do what the Rebbe and Hashem want then we win!! thats what chanukah is all about we won!!moshiach now
Zalman-s
Is there anyone out there who knows what the Rebbe’s approach is?
Mashpi’im or Rabonim please let us know! No need for some farmer with a kach boich svarah.
The reason I ask is not to put anyone down. Burouch Shmuel is an Oihaiv yisroel, a mench and a yid vus halt by epess. I’m asking because I heard that the Rebbe’s approach was NOT to make a big deal out of it. I could be wrong.