SALT LAKE CITY – A menorah on display for Hanukkah was allegedly damaged by vandals in Salt Lake City early Sunday morning.
Rabbi Benny Zippel said in a statement that the menorah they had on display in front of Chabad Lubavitch, located at 1760 South 1100 East, was damaged around 1 a.m.
Zippel said in the statement, “I find it deplorable that acts like this take place specifically during a holiday that celebrates religious freedom in our country.
Zippel told FOX 13 News he received a call from police at about 2:30 a.m., in which he was told several pieces of the menorah had been broken off.
"It makes me aware of the strong degree of insensitivity to people of other faith, and other degrees of observance... which is nothing but an indication, to me, of pure and simple ignorance on behalf of people that leads to a lack of sensitivity and mutual acceptance of others," he said.
Police officials and Zippel said they do not have any suspects in the incident, and it wasn't clear what motivated the vandalism. Zippel said he hopes those responsible for damaging the menorah were acting out of ignorance, rather than acting from a place of deliberate intolerance.
