Hate Crime denial at San Jose State

Sukkot festivities ended early for Jewish students at San Jose State University after someone burned the outdoor shelter - known as a sukkah - that marks the Feast of the Tabernacles.

A student arrived Wednesday morning and found the sukkah - made of a metal frame and nylon walls - melted, said Sue Maltiel, executive director of Hillel of Silicon Valley.

Police and Hillel officials believe the fire was deliberately set but was not a hate crime. There were no notes or messages indicating anything other than vandalism, said Sgt. Mike Santos with university police, noting that the campus is downtown and vagrants often sleep on Hillel's patio.

Hillel had planned to observe the seven-day festival until today. Students had been eating meals, celebrating the Sabbath and holding talks in the sukkah, which represents the huts the Israelites built while wandering in the desert.

The 24-by-12-foot sukkah was new and cost the group $1,700, Maltiel said. In the past, students hung sheets on wood frames.

"We've never had a nice sukkah before," she said. "We're going to have to do a fundraiser. We have to replace it, but I hate to see it burned again."