By: Serach Nissim

Yale University leaders, elected officials and clergy in New Haven, Connecticut, made a public announcement condemning a protester who hung a Palestinian flag on the public Hanukkah menorah.  As reported by the NY Times, though the flag was just briefly hung on the menorah over the weekend, the leaders called the act a desecration of the public menorah.  “The placement of a Palestinian flag on the menorah conveys a deeply anti-Semitic message to Jewish residents of New Haven, including members of the Yale community,” Peter Salovey, the Yale president, said in a statement.

“It may look like a prank,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is Jewish and whose father escaped from Germany in 1935.  “It may look like a joke. But it couldn’t be more serious because it is the mockery and desecration of a profoundly important religious symbol,” Blumenthal said Monday, calling the incident an act of hate.

The menorah display was not on Yale space, but close to it.  The incident was captured on video, and lasted little more than a minute, said a participant in a pro-Palestinian rally nearby.  At the rally, a protester had hung the flag on, but then removed it at the urging of other demonstrators.  “Get down!” the demonstrators could be heard shouting repeatedly in the video.  “That looks bad for us,” said one person at the rally.  Per the NY Times, the Pro-Palestinian rally was held Saturday, co-sponsored by groups including Yalies4Palestine.  The groups also condemned the incident, which they described as an “anti-Semitic action.”  “We are appalled by this behavior, and are especially disappointed since it comes during the religious observation of Hanukkah,” the groups said in a joint statement apologizing.

“While the incident was hateful, it does not appear — in the various parties’ assessment — that it triggers a hate crime,” said David Zanelli, an assistant chief of police. He added that the menorah did not seem to have been damaged.  A news conference was held on Monday regarding the incident.  Many Jewish community members, who attended the conference, said that a menorah is a religious symbol, making this an attack on Jews, not Israel.  “A menorah has nothing to do with Zionism,” said Ina Silverman, a New Haven resident.  “A menorah is an ancient sign of the Jewish religion,” she said. “It was clearly an anti-Semitic attack. Nobody should think otherwise.”

The incident comes as university campuses across the state have become hotbeds for hate following Hamas’ Oct 7th deadly surprise attack on Israel.  Anti-Israel protests have become a common sight particularly in elite universities.  On Saturday, University of Pennsylvania’s President Elizabeth Magill was pushed to resign, after failing to acknowledge if calling for the genocide of Israel is against the school’s code of conduct, during her congressional testimony.   Claudine Gay, President of Harvard, apologized following her own testimony.

Dr. Salovey, the Yale president, took a cue following the congressional testimony from Presidents at Harvard, UPenn and MIT, and condemned hate on his campus more forcefully.  Last week, Dr. Salovey released a statement outlining steps to counteract anti-Semitism as well as Islamophobia at Yale. He said there is a clear line that can’t be crossed.  “Chants or messages that express hatred, celebrate the killing of civilians, or contain calls for genocide of any group are utterly against our ideals,” Dr. Salovey said.