The new menorah installed in Mitchell Park this year was damaged this weekend, leaving some residents and officials concerned that the damage was a hate crime by vandals and others, including Southold Town Police, questioning whether the damage was vandalism at all — or simply an accident.
Someone or something hit and broke the menorah’s center candle as well as one of the other light bulbs, according to Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard. Three other bulbs were not working but not physically damaged, he said. Hubbard said the damage seems to have occurred sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning. The menorah was fine on Saturday evening, he said.
The mayor said Southold Police were called and the matter is being investigated.
Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said police “took a report on criminal mischief to the menorah on Sunday… at 2:48 p.m.”
“The officer wrote on the report that he ‘found one light bulb and a candle broken’ on the menorah. The officer goes on to say that he ‘noticed kids playing football in the park earlier in the day and it appeared the damage was caused by same.’ We notified the Village of Greenport of the damage,” Flatley wrote in an email to SoutholdLOCAL.
But the mayor of the village said he didn’t believe the damage was done by a ball. “I could see that for one candle being hit, but five of them — that seems a little far-fetched.”
Trustee Mary Bess Phillips said the vandalism is especially distressing because it is a religious symbol. “We’re supposed to be a community of tolerance,” she said.
David Nyce, the former Greenport mayor and an artisan furniture-maker who custom-made the new menorah said he was “disappointed, because vandalism always makes one disappointed.” But Nyce said he wouldn’t be quick to conclude that the menorah was targeted because it is a symbol of the Jewish faith.
“Stuff has been damaged almost every year in the park,” Nyce said. “Kids have broken bulbs on the Christmas tree with rocks. Hopefully it’s not more insidious. If it’s more than that, it’s more deeply disturbing,” Nyce said.
Rabbi Gadi Capela of Congregation Tifereth Israel said the possibility must be looked into.
“This has been happening all over,” Capela said. “It’s a problem if we think it’s ‘just kids,’ because of the symbolism. If kids did this, well, they have other things to vandalize. So, even if it was kids, we still have to treat this seriously. These things begin with minor damage,” the rabbi said. “ I trust the police will thoroughly investigate this.”
Rabbi Steven Moss, chairman of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, said any time a religious symbol is damaged by a possible act of vandalism, he would like to see the Suffolk Police hate crimes unit called in to investigate. “Unfortunately the way the law is written, local police can handle these crimes. But it’s always good to get the experts in,” he said.
“Under the law they can’t necessarily be charged with a hate crime even if they violate a religious symbol,” Moss added. “Police have to prove intent. In other words, that the damage was done because it was a religious symbol.”
That can be very difficult, Moss allowed.
Editor’s note: This story has been amended to reflect a clarification about the damage to the menorah. The mayor at first said four bulbs were broken. The center candle and one other bulb were broken, as Chief Martin Flatley said this afternoon. Three other bulbs were not working but not physically damaged after the incident.
