Menorah violated in Ukraine on the first night of Hanukkah

Five young individuals knocked down a menorah on the main square of the Ukranian city Dnipro.

The incident was captured by local security cameras. The five perpetrators first approached, then knocked the menorah off its hinges on Monday morning, just after the lighting of the first candle on the initial night of the Festival of Lights, the Hanukkah, reports The Jerusalem Post.

According to Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, chief rabbi of Dnipro, there are dozens of menorahs set up all over town, and only the one on the main square was desecrated. The rabbi claims that the city has a large Jewish community, therefore it is quite Jewish in nature. „This is not an ordinary case for Dnipro, it just reminds us that we are still in exile,” said Kamenetsky.

A Ukrainian law defining the concept of antisemitism was passed earlier this year, defining antisemitism as hatred of Jews and banning it, also establishing punishment for transgressions.

According to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), approximately 140,000-200,000 Jews live in Ukraine.

 

Photo credit: Ukraine Police