Michigan State University Hillel Sukkah ‘Totally Decimated’ By Vandals

MICHIGAN (JNS) — The sukkah at the Hillel at Michigan State University was destroyed by two males on Saturday, according to surveillance footage.

In a Facebook post, MSU Hillel said that the two men appeared to be “extremely inebriated.”

MSU Hillel executive director Cindy Hughey noticed the damage on Monday morning when she stopped at the Hillel building, despite the office being closed for Sukkot.

“I noticed that it was more than just falling down; it looked like it had been totally decimated,” Hughey told the Detroit-based Jewish News. “We began to look at the security footage, and saw two males enter the patio area and proceed to destroy the sukkah.”

She contacted the East Lansing Police Department to file a complaint.

Hughey, through Facebook, received a few different names that she forwarded to police. Whether any of the names were involved in the incident is unknown.

“It was just extremely disappointing to see it being destroyed—and for what purpose?” said Hughey. “However, the MSU community and administration has been very supportive. We’ve had people send their positive and kind words to us and even offer to come help us build a new sukkah.”

MSU Chabad expressed solidarity with MSU Hillel in the aftermath of the incident.

“We were shocked to see this post tonight after the Chag,” posted the Chabad Student Center at MSU on Facebook. “These events are a sober reminder that hatred and ignorance still exist in this world.”

The post continues: “As we welcome the new decade of the Jewish new year, we must all think about how to influence our immediate circle to increase in love and understanding. Just as a stone dropped in a pond creates concentric circles of waves, our circle will create another and then another, until we eliminate the small pockets of hatred that still exist.”