NEW HAVEN, Conn — New Haven Police are investigating an “act of hate” directed at the menorah sitting on the city’s green. The incident happened on Saturday during a pro-Palestinian protest involving hundred of people calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas War.
“It’s hard to be standing here this morning. It was hard to see what happened,” said Gayle Slossberg, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven. “It evokes thousands of years of trauma, and pain for the Jewish community.”
Slossberg and other community leaders gathered on the green Monday morning to denounce the act of hate, and call for unity.
The incident has now taken on a new form in a viral video, where a man can be seen breaking away from the crowd of protestors, climbing the menorah, and placing a Palestinian flag between the candles. Other protestors could been seen immediately running over, calling for the man to get down.
The protestors were there for an event dubbed, “Shut it Down! For Human Rights Day.”
“Everybody recognized immediately that was he was doing was wrong,” said Attorney Jake Dressler who is also a freelance journalist.
Dressler was there covering the protest, and recorded the video now making its round on social media.
“I just want to make clear that it does not seem like it was representative of the entire group, it seems more like it was this one guy who just strayed off,” Dressler said.
Now, New Haven police is investigating the incident as they attempt to identify the subject in the video. They have called on federal and state authorities as well. However, because no damage was done to the menorah, it’s not criminal, yet.
“At this point, while the incident was hateful, it does not appear in the various parties’ assessment that it triggers a hate crime,” said Mayor Justin Elicker of New Haven.
New Haven leaders also mentioned another incident that occurred during the protests, where someone allegedly threw eggs at the marchers from a building up above.
For now, the community is taking a stance against this act of hate, happening during Shabbat and after the second night of Hanukkah.
“My thoughts were, we have to do more. If this happened, something negative, then we wont just double our efforts, we will add even more than that. That’s the only way to fight darkness, is with light. And a little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness. A lot of light dispels a lot of darkness,” said Rabbi Gershon Borenstein, of New Haven’s Chabad-Lubavitch Community.
Rabbi Borenstein said the menorah is one of the first to be publicly displayed in America, and they’ve been lighting it for the holiday for more than 40 years on the green.
During the press conference on Monday, there was a brief interruption from someone calling for a cease-fire, which abruptly ended the event.
Rabbi Borenstein said it is in the face of incidents like this, that his faith grows stronger.
“You look at the menorah, it branches out to all sides, some further, some closer. But at the stem, at the core, we’re all one. It is sometimes these acts of atrocities and outright antisemitism that actually brings out the core of what a person really is, and to stand proud,” Borenstein said.
Four groups organized Saturday’s initial protest including AMPCT (American Muslims for Palestine), WWR (We Will Return Palestine), UCONN SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine), and Y4P (Yalies4Palestine). The group sent out a joint statement, condemning the act of hate. Read the statement below:
“The organizers of yesterday's protest in New Haven unequivocally condemn the antisemitic action of an individual unaffiliated with any of the groups present who climbed a menorah and placed a Palestinian flag on it. We are appalled by this behavior, and are especially disappointed since it comes during the religious observation of Hanukkah.
These actions do not align with our goals of promoting respectful dialogue and peaceful advocacy. As organizers, we apologize deeply for the hurt this has caused. Moving forward, we will take further precautions to uphold our commitment to foster an inclusive and respectful environment for all participants.
A critical reminder to all attendees: we must conduct ourselves in a manner that reflects our values. Our movement for Palestine is one of social justice and equality, which has no room for antisemitism. The only way forward toward Palestinian liberation is together in coalition and in solidarity.”
Yale leaders also sent out a statement saying: “Yale condemns in the strongest possible terms the desecration of a menorah on the New Haven Green during the religious holiday of Chanukah. The placement of a Palestinian flag on the menorah conveys a deeply antisemitic message to Jewish residents of New Haven, including members of the Yale community. Yale’s regulations reach conduct occurring on or off campus that imperils the integrity and values of the University community, and if such conduct is committed by a member of the Yale community, we take action. Yale has asked the New Haven police to investigate this incident and Yale may conduct its own investigation. Desecration of property such as a religious object is a crime under Connecticut law.
This incident took place in a public space in New Haven, Connecticut, off the Yale campus during a demonstration sponsored by several groups in Connecticut. At this time, Yale has no information as to whether the perpetrator was a member of the Yale community. We will update this statement as the investigation continues and further relevant information becomes available.”
New Haven Police are asking anyone with any information on either incident to give them a call.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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