A large public Hanukkah menorah erected in Muswell Hill, north London, has been damaged in what police are treating as religiously aggravated criminal damage, raising fresh concerns for the Jewish community at a particularly sensitive moment. The incident occurred just days after a deadly attack on a Hanukkah gathering in Australia, amplifying the sense of shock and vulnerability.
The menorah, installed by Crouch End Chabad to mark the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, had several of its light bulbs smashed. According to the Metropolitan Police, the damage was reported on Thursday evening, and while no arrests have been made so far, the investigation is ongoing and being treated as a hate crime.
Rabbi Boruch Altein, representing Crouch End Chabad, said the act was “saddening” but stressed that the community would not be intimidated. “We will increase the light,” he said, confirming that the menorah would be repaired and relit on Sunday. He added that the Jewish community in Crouch End had been deeply affected by the recent killings at a Hanukkah event in Sydney, but had also been moved by the support shown locally, including messages and flowers left at the Muswell Hill menorah site. About this development, The WP Times reports, citing the BBC.
The menorah stands at a road junction in Muswell Hill, close to the Crouch End area of Haringey, where it was intended as a visible, public symbol of the festival. The exact location has not been formally restricted, and the organisers have confirmed it will remain in place following repairs.
Local resident and City of London councillor Jason Groves described the vandalism as particularly distressing given its timing. Having grown up near Bondi, he said the attack felt “close to home” so soon after the Australian atrocity. “The light must always overcome the darkness,” he said, welcoming the decision to relight the menorah.
Superintendent Owen Renowden, the Metropolitan Police’s hate crime lead, said the past week had been “tremendously difficult” for the Jewish community. He confirmed that additional visible patrols had been deployed in the area and that officers were working closely with religious leaders and local partners. Police, he said, are treating the incident “extremely seriously” and will provide updates as the investigation progresses.
Crouch End Chabad is also cooperating with the Community Security Trust (CST), the charity responsible for protecting British Jews from antisemitism and terrorism, to establish exactly what happened.
The Muswell Hill incident is not isolated. Earlier this month, police recorded two further attacks on Hanukkah menorahs in London. In Notting Hill, a painted image of a menorah was defaced with white paint, while in Shepherd’s Bush, a menorah was damaged so that it could no longer be lit. Both incidents are also being treated as religiously aggravated hate crimes.
The CST described the wave of vandalism as “appalling and disgraceful”, particularly in the context of the recent killings in Sydney. The charity stressed that Hanukkah is a festival symbolising light and hope, and that Jewish people should be able to celebrate it openly and without fear in London and across the UK.
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