Stolen Menorah was Returned

Robert A. Baker / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, NY — A big, steel menorah that was stolen from in front of Chabad House has been found and returned, Rabbi Yaakov Rapoport said today.

The menorah, which was taken sometime during the weekend of Aug. 15, was found by a woman early Tuesday on Stratford Street, said Rapoport, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Central New York said.

“She found it at the curb,” Rapoport said. “She put it on someone’s lawn and then came back later.”

The woman drove the 5-foot-by-6-foot metal sculpture back to Chabad House on Ostrom Avenue.

“She tied it to the front railing at Chabad to make sure no one would walk right off with it,” Rapoport said.

The woman called Rapoport and let him know where she put it.

“It’s really, really good to know that there are people who care,” Rapoport said.

This was the third time that the menorah has moved by vandals from its spot in a decade, Rapoport said.

Rapoport doesn’t know if the theft was an act of anti-semitism.

“When does a prank become a threat?” he asked.