Word: sukkah
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
This incident is different. Several aspects of the vandalism, which caused portions of the roof to cave in and left half the sukkah unusable, strongly suggest that this incident was motivated by anti-Semitism. University officials and police are taking the issue seriously; they have been in touch with Hillel Director Sally Finestone, and are pursuing an investigation to find the perpetrators...
...flipped so as to make the structure even more unstable. The poles were left standing, so that the damage was not obvious. Since the bolts were about 15 feet above the ground, they could only have been reached by standing on the rickety folding chairs and tables in the sukkah. That would have required a degree of balance and dexterity rare enough when sober, and certainly absent when intoxicated...
...addition, the corner where the sukkah stands, tucked between the Owl and Spee Clubs and en route to Lowell and Winthrop, is frequently passed by students until late at night. Either the vandals were extremely careful to make no noise and attract no attention, or the crime took place after people had gone to bed, perhaps at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., or even later. That people would go to such trouble on a cold weekend night to disturb and endanger Jews is extremely upsetting. It also implies a motive stronger than an ignorant impulse for destruction...
...also needed for the job itself. According to those who built the sukkah, the bolts were securely fastened with a wrench, and would have been impossible to remove by hand. To do so much damage, the vandals would have needed tools--wrenches, and flashlights if it took place before dawn--that most people don't have lying around just in case they decide to play a joke. Because the sukkah is located away from the main thoroughfare, the act was so time consuming, and the damage was so extensive, it is ridiculous to think the decision to vandalize...
...unusually malicious nature of the crime also points to an anti-Semitic motive. While the vandals left the sukkah structurally unsound, they gave no warning signals. There were no scrawled slogans, no spray-painted swastikas. There was not even any damage to the cloth walls or the bamboo roof. Such damage would have been easier to do, and would have sent a clear expression of hatred...