Oakland police have launched a hate crime investigation after a menorah at Lake Merritt was vandalized.
The menorah, located in the area of 12th Street and Lake Merritt Boulevard, was vandalized early Wednesday morning, police said.
“I’m angry, I’m outraged and it's awful to see the anti-semitism and the hate against Jews have come to this level,” said Rabbi Dovid Labkowski. “We are a symbol of freedom of religion, a symbol of light, freedom of hope has been destroyed.”
It was just last weekend when people gathered to mark the 18th lighting of that menorah at the lake.
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The Chabad Jewish Center of Oakland, which owns the vandalized menorah, says they've never had a problem before.
Among the broken menorah pieces, Labowski also found graffiti that included threats against the Jewish community. The rabbi said that since the Israel-Hamas war, anti-semtism in Oakland has spiked and they have been forced to increase security to protect their synagogue.
Now, they're calling on the city to do the same.
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“The war is 7,000 miles away. We here living here in Oakland, Jews and gentiles alike, Christians, Muslims, Hindu’s, we all have to get together and live together,” said Labkowski. “We have to make sure this is a place where everyone feels safe and comfortable.”
OPD is investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, with Mayor Sheng Thao promising to find those responsible, saying, in a statement, “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. We stand together against hate, against antisemitism and against bigotry in any form."
On this seventh night of Hanukkah, the group says they refuse to let the vandalism ruin the holiday.
They are planning to replace the destroyed menorah and relight a new one in a special ceremony.
“We are not going to cower, we are going to build larger and better for every menorah that is destroyed, we are going to build 10 more,” said Labkowski. “We are going to go out there and show the city and the people in the city the loving and peaceful kind people in the city that we can do better.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Oakland police at 510-238-3728.
