VANDALS TEAR THROUGH CHABAD HOUSE IN KANSAS CITY, MO.
“We have full faith in the local authorities to get to the bottom of this,” said Rabbi Yitzchak “Itche” Itkin, director of Chabad on the Plaza. “We have had minor incidents in the past but nothing like this.”
After notifying the police, Itkin spread the word about what had happened on social media, writing online: “There is nothing more disturbing than walking into the Chabad House for an early-morning Torah class and finding the place torn up. Papers and books everywhere, electric wires ripped out, plumbing cut with water pouring everywhere. That was my reality this week.”
He also posted photos showing the extent of the damage and announced a fundraising campaign to rebuild. Within hours, tens of thousands of dollars had been pledged with the campaign closing on Sunday having raised more than $91,000, almost double the funds needed.
Though there has been no motive identified, the Anti-Defamation League Heartland branch said it was “deeply concerned by the shocking vandalism … . The targeting of this house of worship, especially during the festive holiday of Hanukkah, is particularly distributing and inflicts concern and fear in the larger community.”