TWO MENORAH VANDALISMS BEING PROBED HATE CRIME SUSPECTED ON COMMUNITY SYMBOL.Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer STEVENSON RANCH Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. -- Suspecting damage inflicted on a decorative menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. prominently displayed in Stevenson Ranch during Hanukkah is more than simple vandalism, authorities said Tuesday they will investigate it as a hate incident. Twice the electric candelabrum candelabrum (kăn'dəlä`brəm), primarily a support for candles, designed in the form of a turned baluster or a tapered column, also a branched candlestick or a lampstand. -- a treasured symbol for Jews -- was mangled, trampled bent out of shape Bent Out of Shape is an LP issued by Rainbow in 1983. The first CD version to be released released featured several longer edits compared to the vinyl version. A remastered CD reissue was released in May 1999. and its bulbs broken. ``On the first night we didn't link it with this, but when it happened on the second night we began to wonder, `Is there more to this?''' said sheriff's Lt. Brenda Cambra. The 7-foot-tall menorah graced the lawn at Holmes Place and Stevenson Ranch Parkway. The menorah, owned by the Stevenson Ranch Community Association, was repaired after vandals smashed it Thursday night only to be bent and broken again Friday night. The damage is estimated at roughly $210. Hanukkah ended Saturday after sundown. The annual Jewish celebration lasting eight nights commemorates the rededication Noun 1. rededication - a new dedication; "the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem" dedication - a ceremony in which something (as a building) is dedicated to some goal or purpose of the Second Temple in about 165 B.C. Jews light candles in nine-branched menorahs to remember the miracle of a single jar of oil that burned for eight days. A local rabbi said it would be a shame if the case is found to be a hate crime. ``The menorah in Stevenson Ranch is probably one of the most visible symbols of Hanukkah in our community; it's also one of the most visible Jewish symbols in our community,'' said Rabbi Steve Conn of Congregation Beth Shalom Beth Shalom is a Holocaust memorial center in Nottinghamshire in England. External links
Other holiday decoration vandalism reports have been filed but none was related to the Jewish faith or thought to be hate crimes, Cambra said. Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, is not a total stranger to hate crimes. A couple of months ago a swastika was painted on the putting green at The Master's College in Newhall, and in November vandals wrote racial epithets in chalk on a vehicle owned by a black family who lives in Valencia. Neither crime was solved. The case will be classified as a hate crime and handled accordingly if authorities' suspicions are confirmed. Anyone with information should contact the Sheriff's Department at (661) 255-1121. judy.orourke@dailynews.com (661) 257-5255 |
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