Norwich Council agrees to menorah display for just one night over vandalism concerns

There have been concerns about the possibility of violence if a menorah were to be displayed close to the protests and it is understood that the council had concerns about being able to protect the menorah for eight nights.

Norwich council’s deliberations come a week after London Borough of Havering U-turned on a decision not to erect a menorah this year.

The London council had said it would not be putting up the display “in light of escalating tensions from the conflict in the Middle East” but backtracked following widespread outrage.

The Norwich move also comes days after Communities Secretary, Michael Gove, said it would be “wholly wrong” for councils to cancel Chanukah celebrations over fears of “provocation”.

This year, the Norwich community had asked for a menorah to be lit on the city’s civic balcony rather than staging a large public event at street level, due to fears about tensions over the war in Gaza.

The medieval Jewish community of Norwich was falsely accused of the murder of a child called William in 1144 in a notorious blood libel.