Thursday marked the first night of Hanukkah and was celebrated in San Francisco with Union Square’s annual menorah lighting. But given the recent tensions because of the on-going Israel-Hamas war, there were some concerns about safety at the event.
“It’s no secret that there’s been a rise in anti-Semitism around the Bay Area and across the country,” Tyler Gregory, the CEO of the Jewish Community Resource Committee, said. “And Hanukkah is all about hope. And so we hope the community comes out, not just the Jewish community, but the broader San Francisco community to shine a light and try to be hopeful about the future.”
This week, the lighting of the state Christmas tree was delayed for a day — and then turned into a virtual event — over concerns about protests related to the war.
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At another event in San Francisco’s South of Market District Thursday, Mayor London Breed said the menorah lighting would go ahead as planned.
“It’s a very challenging and tough time. We see a lot of emotions on all ends. But violence is never the answer,” Breed said.
Breed added that public safety precautions were being taken into consideration.
For their part, police were already saturating the Union Square shopping district for the holiday shopping season. And San Francisco’s Police Chief Bill Scott reaffirmed that safety was the highest priority for the menorah lighting.
“Increased patrols, increased presence,” Scott said. “And, you know, we have officers both in uniform and out of uniform. So we have eyes and ears out there. If there’s anything that looks amiss, we can address it before there’s an issue.”
Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations have already happened this week, including one held at city hall over a proposed resolution calling for a cease-fire in the war.
NBC Bay Area checked with many of the groups involved in those other demonstrations, who said they had no plans related to the Union Square event.
Another local group planned to light a menorah at city hall and hold a vigil to memorialize those who have been killed in Gaza and call for a cease-fire.
