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Menorahs across the US are vandalized as Jewish communities celebrate Hanukkah amid a spike in antisemitism

(JTA) — In Oakland, California, an 11-foot tall Hanukkah menorah was broken and thrown into a lake. In New Haven, Connecticut, a Palestinian flag was planted in a publicly displayed menorah. In Juno Beach, Florida, a menorah made of sand was destroyed.
As Jewish communities around the United States celebrated Hanukkah over the past week, numerous stories of vandalism and destruction circulated online as public menorahs — many of them sponsored by local outposts of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement — were targeted. Some of the incidents are being investigated as hate crimes.
The acts of vandalism come at a time when Jewish communities are on high alert as watchdogs say antisemitism has spiked around the globe since Oct. 7, when the Israel-Hamas war began. Many communities had planned gatherings explicitly drawing connections between the war and the Hanukkah holiday, which began Dec. 7 and concludes on Friday. In response to the uptick in antisemitism and fear, one Jewish father launched an online campaign encouraging non-Jews to display menorahs in their windows out of solidarity.
For decades, public menorah lightings have been commonplace in many cities around the United States, especially in ceremonies led by local Chabad rabbis. The Hasidic movement organized an estimated 15,000 lightings annually in recent years, and this Hanukkah it puts the number at more than 10% higher — an increase Chabad spokesman Rabbi Motti Seligson attributed in part to the war in Israel and Gaza.
“Jews from across the spectrum of observance are celebrating Hanukkah more visibly this year than ever before,” Seligson said. “They feel they don’t have a choice. It’s in response to Oct. 7.”
Boruch Klar, who runs Menorah.net, which bills itself as the “world’s largest manufacturer of public display menorahs,” said his company’s sales have steadily increased every year, 2023 included. He noted that the company’s sales to municipal and state offices, mostly in the United States, have increased 150% this year.
“The numbers are so high that I can’t actually believe it,” said Klar, a Chabad rabbi who sells menorahs as tall as 12 feet to army bases, shopping malls, sports teams and beyond. He said he sells thousands of menorahs each year but declined to give exact sales numbers.
The prevalence and size of public menorahs makes them easy targets for people seeking to vandalize Jewish property or just cause mischief. And since the holiday began, several incidents of vandalism and destruction of menorahs have been reported around the country — though not, Seligson said, at an appreciably higher rate than in the past.
“Hanukkah came as the perfect antidote to the adversity and the darkness,” Seligson said, noting that Chabad is not formally tracking vandalism incidents. “In the sum total, we’re seeing a lot more light.”
Still, the incidents of vandalism have been jarring to Jewish communities already on edge.
In Oakland, Chabad had assembled a 350-pound menorah that was displayed on a walking trail at the city’s Lake Merritt. Chabad hosted a candle lighting ceremony on Sunday, the fourth night of the holiday, featuring remarks from Mayor Sheng Thao.
On Wednesday morning, Rabbi Dovid Labkowski received text messages saying the menorah had been destroyed. He called the mayor’s office and rushed to the scene, he told J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Pieces of the menorah had been cut up and thrown across the sidewalk and into the lake. Antisemitic graffiti was scrawled onto the base, including “we’re gonna find you” and “you’re on alert.” “Free Palestine” was written in Arabic near where the menorah had stood. Oakland police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
“I felt outraged,” Labkowski told the J. “There’s crime in this city, but it just hit a new level of antisemitism. Together with the crime — it just makes you feel hopeless.”
On Wednesday, a large interfaith crowd gathered to light a new menorah and show support for the local Jewish community.
In New Haven, a pro-Palestinian protester climbed the city’s 30-foot menorah and planted a Palestinian flag between the candles. The menorah was not damaged, but local authorities are investigating the incident, which was caught on camera.
The Jewish Community Synagogue in North Palm Beach had commissioned an artist to create a menorah out of sand in Juno Beach — which was destroyed and defaced with a swastika. After the incident, which is under investigation, the local Jewish community gathered to rededicate the menorah, which was rebuilt.
Menorahs were also vandalized in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Olney, Maryland, the Chicago neighborhood of Lakeview and suburb of Northbrook, as well as in Brooklyn, where two public menorahs were damaged. The two Brooklyn incidents are being investigated as hate crimes, according to the NYPD.
Public menorahs have also been the scenes of dramatic incidents in Europe. In Poland, a far-right member of parliament shocked the chamber when he used a fire extinguisher to blow out the candles of a menorah in the government building. In the Dutch town of Enschede, the mayor refused to be seen with the Netherlands’ Israeli ambassador at a Hanukkah event. And a public menorah was found toppled in West Hempstead, London, on Thursday morning, with a “Free Palestine” sticker affixed to its base.
Rabbi Dovid Katz of the West Hampstead Chabad told the Jewish Chronicle of London that next year he would put up four at the same intersection.
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Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack

A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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