BUDAPEST, Hungary (JTA) — Three vandals of public menorahs in the Hungarian capital of Budapest reportedly turned themselves into police.
Police were searching for a fourth vandal in the attacks they said took place over the weekend on four menorahs throughout the city, Hungary’s Club Radio reported. The vandalism was captured on public surveillance cameras.
The Hungarian daily newspaper Nepszabadsag reported Monday that the attacks — by vandals who were described as young people — appeared to have been “preplanned and premeditated.”
Chabad erected the four menorahs, which were placed at busy intersections throughout the city. The largest, at about 20 feet high, was erected downtown, according to Chabad, and the others are about 10 feet high.
Chabad has erected public menorahs in Budapest every Hanukkah since the fall of communism in 1989. It was the first time that a public menorah has been damaged.
