2 suspects sought after U of Illinois menorah damaged

(JanetandPhil/Flickr)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- University of Illinois police are looking for two men suspected of removing a branch of a menorah outside the Chabad Center for Jewish Life.

The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports that the weekend incident is the fourth time the menorah has been damaged since 2015. Surveillance video shows two people walking by the menorah about 10:50 p.m. Friday. Both men try to shake and move the menorah before one of them removes a branch and walks away with it. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to contact university police.

Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel says the menorah branch has been returned but it's broken. He says the Chabad Center is working with an architect to design a menorah from steel that the center hopes to have on display by Hanukkah in December.

News