Hanukkah Menorah Vandalized in Alameda.

A menorah erected outside Alameda City Hall was found toppled and broken on the first day of Hanukkah.   The City owned menorah is now repaired and has been returned to the plaza.

From the Facebook Page of the City of Alameda:

Last night, on the first night of Chanukah, the Menorah at City Hall was destroyed. In Alameda, we have no tolerance for hate. If you have any information that could help our investigation, please call 510-337-8340. Chanukah is a time for joy and dedication. We celebrate to remember that hate does not win when we rise up against oppressors. 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year, but Alamedans are resilient, and we will recover. For most of us, our new Menorah will shine brighter than ever before. In Alameda we believe strongly that everyone belongs here in our inclusive community.

If you have any information about those responsible for this incident, please contact the Alameda police at 510-337-8340.

Unclear on the concept: David Mandel of JVP Sacramento

Jewish Twitterati is abuzz with Sacramento Jewish Voice for Peace's lack of knowledge of the most basic of Jewish ritual observances- the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.

"Asajew" David Mandel  posted a photo of his Chanukiah on the first night of the celebration.  Four candles are lit.   The shamash is empty.

The comments are priceless.
From A Yid In Dixieland
"JVP celebrates the 4th night of Hanukkah on the first night. And no shamash. Rumor has it they used a burning tire to light them."

A helpful suggestion from Talia Katz
"JVP posted this photo on their Facebook page...If you're going to pretend to be devout Jews, at least Google "Hanukkah" before posting a picture like this."

From  The Proctologist of The Elders of Zion:

Ignorant of  Jewish history.  Ignorant of Jewish Rituals.  "Proud to be ashamed to be Jewish"  JVP is the comic relief of Jew-ish social media.

And if that weren't enough, this travesty of a "Hannukah" celebration was a fundraiser for the terror-supporting SFSU professor Rabab Abdulhadi, whose fiscal sponsor is the extremist antisemtic Al Awda group.

Palestinians and Jesus: A Very Jewish Voice for Peace Hanukkah

Hanukkah is coming up. Its the first war fought for religious self-determination-a  celebration of light over darkness- of right  over might.  The tiny band of Maccabees fought to achieve religious self-determination from the Greeks, who had plundered and desecrated our holy Temple. Ultimately, the Maccabees triumphed over the strongest army in the world, and our Temple was rededicated.

At its core Hanukkah represents the struggle to remain Jewish in a non-Jewish world, a struggle we still face even today.

For 8 days we light candles, to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness.

This poses a quandary for  the "proud to be ashamed to be Jewish" folk at Jewish voice for Peace.  The Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus  took control of our land in 170 C.E.  To celebrate Hanukkah would be to acknowledge an ancient Jewish  presence in the land.  Whats an anti-Zionist to do?  

This, apparently.

From Jewish Voice for Peace

Join your favorite rad Jewish friends to celebrate liberation and maybe learn a little?

We'll light Shabbat AND Hanukkah candles, eat latkes and sufganiyot, talk about how we could reclaim the Hanukkah story for justice in Israel-Palestine. Also maybe we could talk about Jesus, another rad Jew that gets celebrated this time of year.

There you have it.  Latkes and donuts and Jesus.  A very Jewish Voice for Peace Hanukkah.

UPDATE

JVP Rabbi Lynn Gottleib has written the Jewish people out of the Hannukah story. After all, having Jews fighting for autonomy and religious freedom in the Holy land  over 2,000 years ago is in direct opposition to the Palestinian narrative.