Menorah toppling at Harvard being investigated as a hate crime

Police in Cambridge, Mass., are investigating a possible hate crime after a man was seen knocking over a menorah at Harvard University.

The Boston Globe reported that two witnesses saw a man dressed in black walk up to the lead menorah and topple it before fleeing on bicycle over the weekend.

A video of passers-by lifting the toppled menorah has gone viral, with over 26,600 views on Twitter.

Walking past Cambridge Common today w @itsmejono, we saw the park menorah on the ground. 2 young women had witnessed a young man on a bike push it over with intent. We gathered some strangers to help us put it back up. Then the older, Jewish gentleman said a Hanukkah prayer. pic.twitter.com/dm5oX0aX0I

— lillian milagros (@lillian) December 2, 2018

The menorah was placed at Cambridge Common by student group Harvard Chabad.

Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, founder and director of Harvard Chabad, told the Harvard Crimson that menorahs have been vandalized in over the past 19 years that the group has been placing them.

{mosads}“It was really, you know, hateful. He didn’t really care the fact that he was being observed and that there would be witnesses to it,” Zarchi said. “I wish I could say we’re shocked.”

Community members plan to gather Thursday night, the fifth night of Hanukkah, for a menorah lighting and presentation from Cambridge Mayor Marc McGovern.

“The Mayor’s Office considers the toppling of the menorah as an act of hatred,” McGovern said, according to the Globe. “Prejudice-based acts of vandalism and desecration normalize violence and hatred, which is why Cambridge stands in opposition to such animus and remains vigilant to the slightest offense.”

The incident comes amid heightened concern about anti-Semitic acts in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, which left 11 people dead in October.

The Anti-Defamation League has reported a significant spike in anti-Semitic incidents in recent years.

In a Hanukkah message to the American people, President Trump condemned anti-Semitism, writing: “Together, we reaffirm the truth that light will always break through the darkness.”