A menorah set up for Hanukkah at Oakland’s Lake Merritt was vandalized this week, leading to a motor rally around the lake Wednesday night by Jewish people with menorahs on their cars.
“Oakland police have launched a hate crime investigation into the toppling of a menorah at Lake Merritt — an act of vandalism that stunned residents and drew swift condemnation from elected officials,” The San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“Pieces of the heavy steel candelabra lay strewn on the sidewalk near 12th Street and Lake Merritt Boulevard on Wednesday morning. Video footage distributed by Tyler Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council, showed scattered debris and profanity-laced graffiti on an empty cement podium.”
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement blasting the “desecration and act of vandalism.”
“We stand together against hate, against antisemitism and against bigotry in any form,” Thao said. “And when someone commits such a crime, they are attacking the foundation of our City.”
