BRIDGEPORT – Community and political leaders in greater Bridgeport stand behind Congregation B’nai Israel in light of a Dec. 24 vandalism attack on its outdoor light menorah outside the Park Avenue synagogue.
“I woke up on Wednesday morning (Dec. 24) to a call from our building manager,” B’nai Israel Senior Rabbi Evan Schultz posted on Facebook. “Our outdoor menorah at the synagogue had been vandalized. ‘Oh dear, what happened,’ I asked him as my heart sank deep into a pit.
“Someone drove up to the synagogue, got out of their car, and aggressively pushed over the menorah,” he said. “We have it on video. The police are already investigating the incident.”
It was the first time in the 13 years of Rabbi Evans’ tenure at the synagogue that something like this had ever happened, he said. “Sure, we’ve had incidents – suspicious people walking in the parking lot, a bomb threat, but never someone walking onto our property and intentionally vandalizing a sacred Jewish object.”
Leading the show of solidarity was nearby neighbor Congregation Rodeph Sholom:
“We at Congregation Rodeph Sholom were deeply distressed to learn of the vandalism committed against your outdoor menorah and we stand with you in solidarity,” a letter from that synagogue to B’nai Israel read. “The desecration of this sacred symbol immediately after the conclusion of Hanukkah is a hate crime that affects not only B’nai Israel but the entire Jewish community. As your neighbors down the street, we share a measure of your sorrow and anger, as well as a sense of vulnerability and exposure to the forces of hate that poison our community.”
Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, a Fairfield church nearby, also responded soon after the incident.
“We are horrified to learn tonight of the vandalism of a menorah standing outside Congregation B’nai Israel,” stated Revs. David Johnson Rowe, Alida Ward, Brian Bodt. “Rabbis (Evan) Schultz and (Sarah) Marion are our friends and colleagues; our congregations have frequently shared in interfaith events.
“We are profoundly grieved by this act of antisemitism against our friends. More than that, we are sickened by the rising tide of antisemitism, and acknowledge with shame and disgust that such hate is often fueled by those professing to be Christian. As Christian pastors, we state unequivocally that antisemitism in all its forms is unChristian, and an offense against God, Creator of us all.”
Fairfield First Selectman Christine Vitale was disturbed by the “hatred” and “antisemitism.”
“I am devastated that the menorah at B’nai Israel, a synagogue where many Fairfield families worship and find peace and community, was vandalized,” she said in a prepared statement. “This is a season of light and love and this act of hatred cannot go unaddressed. In Fairfield, we continue to stand with the Jewish community.”
Trumbull First Selectman Vicki Tesoro reiterated what Vitale and others have thought about the vandalism at the temple.
“It is with a heavy heart that I learned of the vandalism to the menorah at B’nai Israel synagogue in Bridgeport,” Tesoro said. “Many Trumbull families worship at B’nai Israel and we are saddened at this act of deliberate destruction.”
State Sen. Tony Hwang called the vandalism an attack on faith.
“This was not simply damage to property, it was an attack on faith, memory, and the right of our Jewish neighbors to live and worship without fear,” said Sen. Hwang. “To intentionally vandalize a religious symbol during a time of celebration is heartbreaking. It should alarm every resident who believes in tolerance, dignity, and respect.”
Rabbi Schultz has worried about such incidents happening against Jews worldwide what with all the recent antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 14 that left 15 Jews dead at Channukah celebration.
“It was only a matter of time, I thought to myself,” Evans said. “We’ve been reading about this stuff happening and now it’s happened to us. Right in the front yard of our synagogue.”
He pointed out the special meaning of that particular menorah.
“To deepen the wound, that menorah was built by the wonderful grandfather of children who grew up here at B’nai Israel,” Evans said. “He was a Holocaust survivor. He built this menorah as a gift to the synagogue, crafted by his own two hands.”
And now the menorah lay in pieces, caught in the bushes, like the ram in the thicket on the day Abraham ascended to sacrifice his son, Evans added. “The nightmare of this recent wave of antisemitism had hit our Jewish home right here in Bridgeport,” he said.
He did not miss the timing of the event in the same week that Vice President J.D. Vance said to the crowd at the Turning Point USA conference: “The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.”
