As the war between Israel and Gaza continues, the ripple effects can be felt across the world. In America, there’s been a rise of anti-semitism in a lot of communities. The Jewish communities no longer feel as safe and loved as they used to.
In Oakland, California, a large public menorah was vandalized and destroyed, with some pieces of it tossed into the nearby Lake Merritt. This occurred as Jews around the world celebrated Hanukkah. The Mayor of Oakland considers the act a hate crime and is demanding a thorough police investigation.
The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area released images and videos that showed pieces of the vandalized menorah thrown across the waterfront. The vandals also painted horrible, threatening graffiti where the menorah once stood. The pictures and videos also showed menorah pieces in the shallow parts of Lake Merritt.
News outlet KGO reported the vandalism occurred on the sixth night of Hanukkah. Which for Jews is known as the “Festival of Lights.” The celebration lasts for a total of eight nights.
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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao had attended to the lighting of the menorah. She made a statement asking the Oakland Police Department Interim Chief Darren Allison to consider the incident a hate crime and investigate. Thao said she was “outraged by this desecration and act of vandalism.”
The mayor said the menorah was a “long-standing and important symbol” for the local Jewish community. “I want to be very clear that what happened was not just an attack on Oakland’s Jewish Community but our entire city and our shared values,” Thao said. “We stand together against hate, against anti-semitism, and against bigotry in any form. And when someone commits such a crime, they are attacking the foundation of our City.”
The Chabad Jewish Center of Oakland had organized the lighting of the Lake Merritt menorah. According to the center’s rabbi, Dovid Labkowski, he received a text last Wednesday morning informing him that the menorah had been vandalized. This was shocking news for the rabbi.
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“I would never imagine that the menorah, which is a symbol of light, would be something that someone would want to destroy … I don’t know why,” Labkowski said. “I know the air is toxic these days, and it shouldn’t be that way.”
Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, there have been over 2,000 similar incidents reported. According to the Anti-Defamation League, that’s a 337% rise over the same period in 2022. Also, the Council on American-Islamic Relations says that there’s been a spike in bias against Muslims and Arabs. According to the group, there were over 2,000 requests for help and reports of bias in November.
Furthermore, the CAIR’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter has condemned the destruction of the Oakland menorah. They called it “not only an attack on the Jewish community but an affront to all who stand for religious freedom.”
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“The rise in incidents targeting both the Jewish and Muslim communities calls for a collective response against all forms of bigotry,” the group said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “We stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors against anti-Semitism, just as we fight against Islamophobia. Hatred against one community is a threat to all.”
The Oakland community was quick to come together to install a new menorah. California Attorney General Rob Bonta also attended to show his support. “Too many people have been attacked and targeted and hurt and harmed because of who they are, where they are from, who they love, and how they pray,” Bonta said, “and that is wrong.”
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