Muswell Hill Hanukkah menorah damaged by wind

The Metropolitan Police says it has closed its investigation after a menorah celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah was damaged in north London.

The force had initially said it was treating the incident in Muswell Hill as religiously aggravated criminal damage.

BBC photographer Jeff Overs said he had witnessed the menorah being blown over by the wind, with the lights smashing as it hit the ground.

Mr Overs said it had been "lashing rain and wind" when he left a shop opposite the site on Thursday afternoon and saw the menorah fall over.

Rabbi Boruch Altein from the Crouch End Chabad said the menorah would be repaired and relit on Sunday.

Mr Overs said the usually busy area had been quiet on Thursday due to the bad weather and he was the only one to witness the menorah fall.

"There was an hour of really high wind," he said. "A sudden gust took it over and it fell and crashed."

A spokesperson for the Met Police said officers had been alerted to the damaged menorah by a member of the public at about 19:35 GMT on Thursday.

They said: "Police initially treated the incident as racially aggravated criminal damage. However, after speaking to local people, we are confident the menorah was blown over and there is no evidence to suggest intentional damage. We have closed our investigation."

It follows two vandalism incidents in December that targeted Hanukkah menorahs in London, which the Metropolitan Police said was treating as religiously aggravated hate crimes.

The spokesperson said: "Investigations remain ongoing into separate incidents of vandalism and we continue to maintain visible foot patrols in the area and liaise with local partners, including religious leaders."

On 14 December, 15 people were killed in mass shooting at a Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach.

In the days that followed,the Met Police received two reports - one that a painting of a menorah had been damaged with white paint in Notting Hill and another that a menorah in Shepherd's Bush had been damaged so that it would no longer light up.

Some Muswell Hill residents had been concerned that the damage to the menorah was racially motivated.

On Friday, the Crouch End Chabad said it was working with police and the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which protects British Jews from antisemitism and terrorism, to find out what had happened.

Local resident and City of London councillor Jason Groves grew up near Bondi and has many friends in the Bondi Jewish community.

Speaking before the police investigation was closed, Mr Groves said it had been "particularly distressing to see an act so hate-filled close to home that soon after the atrocity in Australia".

The CST called the vandalism of Hanukkah menorahs in London "appalling and disgraceful, particularly in the wake of the horrific terror attack in Sydney where Jewish people were killed while celebrating Hanukkah".

"The story of Hanukkah is one of light and hope, and Jewish people should be free to celebrate this holiday without fear or hatred," it added.

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