At Miami University, structure commemorating Jewish celebration vandalized
Three men have turned themselves in to Oxford police after a structure commemorating a Jewish holiday was vandalized at Miami University in mid-October, according to campus organization Hillel.
Hillel at Miami University posted on social media this week that its sukkah was damaged on Oct. 15, the penultimate day of the weeklong Jewish celebration Sukkot. A sukkah is a temporary structure erected to commemorate the holy week each fall.
In a security camera video that Miami University Hillel posted to Facebook, the men are seen scaling Hillel's fence and flipping the structure over from the side.
Hillel at Miami posted on Facebook Wednesday night that three men have turned themselves in. Oxford police could not immediately be reached for more information about the suspects and investigation.
"Our Sukkah may be broken. But our spirit is anything but," Hillel Miami executive director Whitney Fisch wrote on Facebook shortly after the incident "As upsetting as this incident has been, I feel so uplifted by the wonderful students and staff who have pride in our Jewish community, in our university, and in our Hillel – and no one and no act of vandalism can take that away."
Sukkot, also known as the harvest celebration, was Oct. 9 through 16 this year. It celebrates the blessings bestowed on the Israelites after escaping slavery. The sukkah represents the shelters in which they lived while living in the desert thereafter.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Hillel at Miami University experiences vandalism of sukkah
