A man was arrested Sunday shortly after reports he was carving Nazi symbols into the base of a public menorah in Beverly Hills.

Police were called around 8pm on Sunday, on the first night of Chanukah, to a report of a person defacing a menorah around Sunset Boulevard.

The suspect, later identified as 47-year-old Dallas resident Eric Brian King, was caught on surveillance video throwing objects at the menorah. Images also showed that “SS” symbols had been cut into the menorah.

Mr King was arrested for felony vandalism and a hate crime, and was scheduled for a court appearance on Tuesday, police said.

Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook said: “A despicable act such as this will never be tolerated in our city,”

President and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Rabbi Noah Farkas, said: “It is unfortunate that we as Jews can’t even have a peaceful display of our religion without being targeted in this disturbing wave of recent antisemitism locally and globally.

“We will not let this act, or any act of hate, deter us from celebrating the wonder of Chanukah and the joy of being Jewish. We will continue to live with pride and will never allow an incident like this to diminish our spirit.”

According to the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations, overall hate crimes in Los Angeles surged last year to their highest level since 2002, with a 23 per cent increase from the same period in 2020.

Of the 111 religious hate crimes reported in 2021, three-quarters targeted Jews.