A man was arrested for allegedly vandalizing a menorah in Beverly Hills on December 18, the first night of Hanukkah.
The Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) announced in a press release that surveillance footage showed the suspect, Eric Brian King from Dallas, TX, throwing “objects at the menorah” as well as carving Nazi symbols into it.
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King faces felony hate crime and vandalism charges. “A despicable act such as this will never be tolerated in our City,” BHPD Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook said in a statement.
Beverly Hills Mayor Lilli Bosse thanked the BHPD in a tweet, adding: “Hate will not be tolerated and light will always shine brighter than darkness!”
Thank you BHPD for immediately arresting and charging this despicable act of antisemitism, Jew hatred with a Hate Crime! Hate will not be tolerated and light will always shine brighter than darkness! #Antisemitism #nohate #light pic.twitter.com/KUabgOonrh
— Lili Bosse (@LiliBosse1) December 19, 2022
Jewish groups condemned the vandalism.
“Grateful for swift action by law enforcement,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted. “How tragic that in 2022 #antisemitic acts once associated with Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia infect our beloved America. May the light of #Chanukah banish forces of darkness.”
Grateful for swift action by law enforcement. How tragic that in 2022 #antisemitic acts once associated with Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia infect our beloved America. May the light of #Chanukah banish forces of darkness. https://t.co/9Fc9AWyW7U
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) December 19, 2022
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said in a statement, “We are aware of the despicable antisemitic crime in Beverly Hills last night and are working with our partners in the city of Beverly Hills and local law enforcement to ensure that justice is served and future acts of hate can be prevented. It is unfortunate that we as Jews can’t even have a peaceful display of our religion without being targeted in this disturbing wave of recent antisemitism locally and globally. We will not let this act, or any act of hate, deter us from celebrating the wonder of Hanukkah and the joy of being Jewish. We will continue to live with pride and will never allow an incident like this to diminish our spirit.”
This article has been updated.
