Pro-Palestine protester climbs Chabad menorah, places Palestine flag

Several politicians, police and other supporters gathered on Monday to condemn the desecration of a menorah on Saturday after pro-Palestine protesters gathered in New Haven, Connecticut, to demonstrate their support for Palestine and call for a ceasefire, according to local news.

Around 300 people came to protest on Saturday. One of the protesters climbed a menorah on the New Haven Green and put a Palestinian flag between the candle holders.

According to Mayor Justin Elicker, the flag was immediately taken down and there was no damage caused to the menorah itself.

"Today we're gathering together because we in New Haven condemn hate and condemn antisemitism," Elicker said in a public statement. "And the many people that are standing behind me have gathered together many other times to condemn other forms of hate in our city. We won't stand for it, we won't tolerate it, and we've come together to condemn it yet again today."

The event, organized by American Muslims for Palestine CT, We Will Return Palestine and UCONN SJP (Students for Justice in Palestine at UConn), began at the New Haven Green around 2 p.m.

Protesters brought Palestinian flags, keffiyehs, and prayer rugs to the protest.

Too late We see you for who you are pic.twitter.com/b2737keJ5T

— Andrew Talbot (@AndrewTalbotUSA) December 10, 2023

Condemning the act at the protest

Elicker said that the protesters, who included Yale University's Muslim Chaplain Omer Bajwa, were egged during the protest. One of the protesters claimed that the eggs were thrown from a window of the Union Trust apartment building at Yale.

Assistant Police Chief David Zannelli stated that the person who place the Palestinian flag on the menorah was not identified because their face was covered. He also stated that because the menorah was not damaged, the act will not be considered a hate crime. "Since there's no vandalism or theft, we're just treating it as a potential hate crime, although we do categorize it as a hateful incident," he said.

CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Gayle Slossberg, said that the video of the protester on the menorah "is a deeply painful, painful thing to see. It evokes thousands of years of trauma and pain for the Jewish community."

"This is not one isolate incident that happened without any history," she explained. "The history of the Jewish people is to experience this trauma and to stand tall, condemn it and survive it.

"It isn't a far walk from hate speech to hateful actions, first to property and then to people," Slossberg continued. "And the Jewish community, while we are strong, we're afraid."

Chabad Rabbi Gershon Borenstein, who leads the annual menorah lighting, called for all of the Jewish people to perform one mitzvah. "Just one mitzvah, just one positive commandment. One act of positivity will far outpace [the hate; it will be], far, far, far-reaching in a positive way."

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that "More important than my words is this picture of solidarity, solidarity among faith leaders, because they know that desecration of one religion is potentially a desecration of all religions."

“Yale condemns in the strongest possible terms the desecration of a menorah on the New Haven Green during the religious holiday of Chanukah,” Yale University said in a statement. “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."

"Be a proud menorah," the rabbi urged. "Light your candle, light your menorah. Post it; share with your friends, share with your family. Celebrate it together."