The Anti-Defamation League’s Mountain States Region today decried the vandalism of a Colorado Springs menorah with a swastika. The menorah, a religious symbol of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, is located in front of a rabbi’s home.

Scott L. Levin, ADL Mountain States Regional Director, issued the following statement:

The Anti-Defamation League condemns in the strongest terms this anti-Semitic vandalism. This vandalism, on the heels of the reported vandalism of a car in Colorado Springs with the words, “I hate black people,” violates the spirit of inclusivity and respect embodied in our nation’s principles.  That a swastika was used to deface the menorah is especially disturbing given the use of the swastika by the Nazis as a symbol of hate against the Jewish people.

We call upon the Colorado Springs Police Department to investigate this matter as a bias-motivated crime.  If the evidence proves that it was indeed a bias-motivated crime, we hope that the perpetrator(s) will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We deplore this despicable and hateful act that affects not only the Jewish community but also the Colorado Springs community at large.  In times like these and always, we must join together to declare our community no place for hate.