Hanukkah menorah near Lake Merritt destroyed by vandals

OAKLAND — Vandals on Tuesday night destroyed a large Hanukkah menorah set out for the public at Lake Merritt.

Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that they were called to Lake Merritt in the late morning, and that they are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime.

The vandalism comes during a time that concern about anti-Semitism locally and nationally is rising, with the FBI director earlier this year lamenting the “historic” level of hatred directed against Jewish people.

Cassandra Huffman, a spokesperson for the Jewish Community Relations Council, said in a statement that the menorah had been smashed, its pieces strewn across the area. Police said some of the heavier pieces ended up in the water.

Anti-Semitic graffiti was also sprayed on concrete benches near the display.

“This is devastating to the local Jewish community,” Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the JCRC, said in a statement. “There’s no room for debate; this vicious act unequivocally deserves condemnation. Jews in this country should not have to live in fear.”

Police said they were in the process of looking for video surveillance of the area.

Rabbi Dovid Labkowski, the director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Oakland, said that in the wake of the vandalism, the Jewish community will put up another menorah Wednesday night, beginning with a ceremony starting about 5:30 p.m. at the lake.

The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the Israeli response in Gaza, have sparked heated debates and protests on many sides. Thousands of civilians have died on both sides of the conflict.

As the conflict has continued, local protests and other events have seen loud calls for peace and denunciations of the violence.

On Wednesday, San Jose police said they were investigating two separate incidents where a person ripped down banners supporting Gaza over a freeway overpass.

“The message of Hanukkah is eight candles, eight nights. The point of the lights is to bring happiness and joy and positivity into our lives . . .,” Labkowski said. “For the darkness and hate of people to come out and destroy it is just devastating.”

Teachers held what the Oakland Unified School District called an “unsanctioned” teach-in centered on the “Palestinian struggle for liberation,” on Dec. 6, an event that the OUSD pushed back against when Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell  sent out a message to the school community stating the OUSD “does not authorize this action.”

In late November, Oakland became the second Bay Area city to signal support for the people of Gaza, calling for a ceasefire to the violence in region.

“It’s just very sad that Jews have live here in fear,” Lobkowski said. “And we’re not going to cower.”

Police encouraged anyone with information to call 510-238-3728.

Staff photographer Jane Tyska contributed to this report. Please check back for updates.