Vandals Damage Public Hanukkah Menorahs in Two Ukraine Incidents

Menorahs set up in public spaces to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah were damaged by vandals in two major Ukrainian cities in recent days.

In Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, a man identified as Yuri Tebenko was arrested by police as he tried to knock down a menorah in the city’s Independence Square, The Algemeiner reported, an attempted repeat of a similar incident last year.

In a video of Sunday night’s incident, Tebenko can be heard telling police, “It wasn’t necessary to put this here.”

Meanwhile, in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city, five young unidentified individuals pushed over a menorah in the city’s Europe Square early Monday morning.

“This is not an ordinary case for Dnipro, it just reminds us that we are still in exile,” Dnipro Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky was quoted by Ynet as saying.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv tweeted:

Shocked and saddened to learn unidentified perpetrators toppled a Hanukkah menorah at a central square in Dnipro this morning. The U.S. Embassy calls on law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those responsible for hate crimes. 🇺🇸 stands with 🇺🇦 in condemning anti-Semitism.

— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) November 29, 2021

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