Beverly Hills Hosts Menorah Lighting For Hanukkah At City Hall

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The City of Beverly Hills is hosting a Menorah lighting celebration from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, December 23. The event will be inside, on the second floor of City Hall, due to the possibility of rain.

Mayor John Mirisch will be at the event, which is meant to share the historical meaning of Hanukkah and the festival of lights. The celebration comes as the Jewish community in Beverly Hills recovers from vandalism at a local synagogue last Saturday.

A 24-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested Wednesday in Hawaii for allegedly breaking into Nessah Synagogue and causing significant damage to some items inside.

Anton Nathaniel Redding, of Millersville, Pennsylvania, was arrested on suspicion of vandalism of religious property, commercial burglary and a hate crime allegation, according to Beverly Hills Police Department Lt. Elisabeth Albanese.

"The suspect damaged several Jewish relics, but fortunately the synagogue's main scrolls survived unscathed," she said. "The disruption was primarily to the synagogue's interior contents, and there is very limited structural damage."

It did not appear that any property was stolen during the crime and there were no markings or other overt signs of anti-Semitism left at the synagogue, Albanese said.

Related: Arrest Made In Beverly Hills Synagogue Vandalism